CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute is an award-winning television special created by CNN to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and make a difference in their communities. The program was started in 2007. As of 2014 the program was hosted by Anderson Cooper. Nominees are introduced during the fall of each year and the audience is encouraged to vote online for the CNN Hero of the Year. Ten recipients are honored and each receive USD$50,000 ($25,000 in 2014). The top recipient is chosen as the CNN Hero of the Year and receives an additional USD$250,000 ($100,000 in 2014) to continue their work. During the broadcast celebrating their achievements, the honorees are introduced by celebrities who actively support their charity work. To celebrate the 10th anniversary, the 2016 edition had an additional segment where 5 previous Hero of the year winners were chosen as candidates for the Superhero of the year award, which was decided with an online poll.
In 2012, the program received a Peabody Award for its 2011 campaign and show. CNN Heroes has also been nominated for the News & Documentary Emmy Awards and is the winner of 3 Gracies.
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2016:
Jeison Aristizábal of Cali, Colombia: 2016 CNN Hero of the year
Craig Dodson, United States
Sherri Franklin, United States
Brad Ludden, United States
Luma Mufleh, United States
Georgie Smith, United States
Umra Omar, Kenya
Sheldon Smith, United States
Becca Stevens, United States
Harry Swimmer, United States
Pushpa Basnet, of Kathmandu, Nepal: 2016 CNN Super Hero of the year
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2015:
Maggie Doyne , of New Jersey, United States: 2015 CNN Hero of the year
Jim Withers, United States
Monique Pool, of Suriname
Richard Joyner, United States
Sean Gobin, United States
Bhagwati Agrawal, India
Kim Carter, United States
Rochelle Ripley, United States
Jody Farley-Berens
Daniel Ivankovich, United States
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2014 (in alphabetical order):
Arthur Bloom of the United States
Jon Burns of the United Kingdom
Pen Farthing of the United Kingdom: 2014 CNN Hero of the year
Elimelech Goldberg of the United States
Leela Hazzah of Kenya
Patricia Kelly of the United States
Annette March-Grier of the United States
Ned Norton of the United States
Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes of Guatemala
Dr. Wendy Ross of the United States
The 3 Young Wonders of 2014 (in alphabetical order):
Lily Born
Maria Keller, Read Indeed,
Joshua Williams, Joshua's Heart
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 (in alphabetical order):
Dale Beatty, co-founder of Purple Heart Homes
George Bwelle
Robin Emmons
Danielle Gletow, founder of One Simple Wish
Tawanda Jones
Richard Nares
Kakenya Ntaiya
Chad Pregracke of the USA: 2013 CNN Hero of the year
Estella Pyfrom, creator of "Estalla's Brilliant Bus"
Laura Stachel
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 (in alphabetical order):
Pushpa Basnet of Kathmandu, Nepal: 2012 CNN Hero of the year
Wanda Butts of Ohio, United States
Mary Cortani of California, United States
Catalina Escobar of Cartagena, Colombia
Razia Jan of Afghanistan, with an organization located in Massachusetts, United States
Thulani Madondo of Kliptown, South Africa
Leo McCarthy of Montana, United States
Connie Siskowski of New Jersey, United States
Scott Strode of Colorado, United States
Malya Villard-Appolon of Kofaviv, Haiti
The 3 Young Wonders of 2012 (in alphabetical order):
Cassandra Lin
Will Lourcey
Jessica Rees
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2011 (in alphabetical order):
Eddie Canales of Texas, United States
Taryn Davis of North Carolina, United States
Sal Dimiceli of Wisconsin, United States
Derreck Kayongo of Atlanta, United States
Diane Latiker of Chicago, United States
Robin Lim of Bali, Indonesia: 2011 CNN Hero of the year
Patrice Millet of Haiti
Bruno Serato of Anaheim, California, United States
Richard St. Denis of Mexico
Amy Stokes of South Africa
The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010 (in alphabetical order):
Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega of Juarez, Mexico
Susan Burton of California, United States
Linda Fondren of Mississippi, United States
Anuradha Koirala of Kathmandu, Nepal: 2010 CNN Hero of the year
Narayanan Krishnan of Madurai, India
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow of Scotland, United Kingdom
Harmon Parker of Kenya, Africa
Aki Ra of Cambodia
Evans Wadongo of Kenya, Africa
Dan Wallrath of Texas, United States
Also all of the 33 Chilean Miners came on the show to be honored after the 2010 Copiapó mining accident before awards were given out to the list of heroes shown above. Kareem Taylor is the promotional voice for the commercial campaign leading up to the show.
The Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009 were (in alphabetical order):
Jorge Munoz, of Queens, New York, United States
Jordan Thomas, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Budi Soehardi, of Kupang, Indonesia
Betty Makoni, of London, United Kingdom
Doc Hendley, of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States
Efren Peñaflorida, of Cavite City, Philippines: 2009 Hero of the Year
Derrick Tabb, of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Roy Foster, of Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Andrea Ivory, of West Park, Florida, United States
Brad Blauser, of Dallas, Texas, United States
The Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 were (in alphabetical order):
Tad Agoglia, of Long Island, New York, United States
Yohannes Gebregeorgis, of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Carolyn LeCroy, of Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Anne Mahlum, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Liz McCartney, of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States: 2008 Hero of the Year
Phymean Noun, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
David Puckett, of Savannah, Georgia, United States
Maria Ruiz, of El Paso, Texas, United States
Marie Da Silva, of (Malawi), residing in Los Angeles, California, United States
Viola Vaughn, of Kaolack, Senegal
The 18 CNN Heroes finalists for 2007 were (in alphabetical order):
Florence Cassassuce, La Paz, Mexico
Kayla Cornale, of Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Mathias Craig, of San Francisco
Irania Martinez Garcia, of Guantanamo, Cuba
Pablo Fajardo, of Ecuador
Rangina Hamidi, of Stone Ridge, Virginia, United States
Rick Hodes, of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Lynwood Hughes, of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States
Dallas Jessup, of Vancouver, Washington, United States
Peter Kithene, of Seattle, Washington, United States
Scott Loeff, of Chicago, Illinois, United States
Mark Maksimowicz, of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
James McDowell, of Patchogue, New York, United States
Anne McGee, of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Josh Miller, of Santa Monica, California, United States
Rosemary Nyirumbe, of Uganda
Steve Peifer, of Kijabe, Kenya
S. Ramakrishnan, of Ayikydy, India
Julie Rems-Smario, of Oakland, California, United States
Scott Southworth, of USA
