CNN Heroes celebrates 15 years of inspiring the world

By the CNN Heroes team

For 15 years, CNN Heroes has been honoring everyday people changing the world. Since 2007, we have recognized more than 350 Heroes from all 50 states and more than 110 countries. While their missions are diverse, they all are dedicated to helping others. The impact of their work is staggering.

More than 55,100,000 people helped around the world
More than 22,600,000 meals fed to those in need
More than 9,500 tons of food delivered or provided
More than 107,000 animals helped
More than 10,980,000 trees planted
More than 2,4000,000 people provided with clean water
More than 13,400,000 diapers donated

Over the years, some of the Heroes’ missions have evolved as they’ve responded to new challenges. We caught up with some Heroes who found new ways to help those who need it most.

Here are some of the ways that our Heroes are continuing to give back.

Helping others through the pandemic

2012 CNN Hero Jake Wood co-founded Team Rubicon to deploy military veteran volunteers to assist after natural disasters. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, they jumped in to help. At first, they delivered groceries to the homebound and helped run testing sites. In 2021, they’ve supported the nationwide vaccination effort, helping bring nearly 2 million doses to communities around the country.

“We wanted to make sure that an American’s ZIP code didn’t determine the ease with which they had access to a Covid-19 vaccine.”

2015 CNN Hero Dr. Jim Withers has spent nearly 30 years practicing street medicine and caring for Pittsburgh’s homeless through Operation Safety Net, a program he started through his health system, Pittsburgh Mercy. In the spring of 2020, Dr. Withers and his team first brought Covid-19 tests and then vaccines to their patients.

“We’re in this together, and so it behooves us to try to protect the most vulnerable people.”

2014 CNN Hero Dr. Wendy Ross spent her career advocating for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities like autism. Now, as director of the Center for Autism and Neurodiversity at Jefferson Health, she has been making it easier for people with these challenges to get vaccinated at her sensory-friendly clinics run by vaccinators who are specifically trained to work with this at-risk population.

“Getting the vaccine to this population absolutely is saving lives. I just feel that everyone matters and has value and that everyone should be included.”

Jennifer Maddox is a Chicago police officer and a 2017 CNN Hero, recognized for her non-profit, Future Ties, which offers free after-school mentoring and tutoring for more than 100 children on the city’s South Side. When the pandemic closed classrooms during the last school year, she transformed her center into a hub for remote learning so that parents could return to work and their kids could receive the support and technology they needed.

“We provide them with a safe space. We go around making sure the kids are online, on track, on task, and able to complete their assignments and progress.”

Helping Afghanistan through turmoil

2018 CNN Hero Matt Zeller is an Afghan war veteran who co-founded No One Left Behind in 2013. Since then, his organization has helped more than 15,000 people leave Afghanistan and start new lives. He was inspired to start this work after it took him four years to bring the Afghan interpreter who saved his life, Janis Shinwari, to the US. Since the rapid Western withdrawal last August, their mission has taken on a new urgency, and the job has become exponentially more difficult. But Zeller and Shinwari are determined to continue their important work.

“They stood shoulder to shoulder with us for over 20 years. We need to bring them home.”

Pen Farthing was named 2014 CNN Hero of the Year in recognition of his non-profit, Nowzad, which cares for stray animals in Kabul and reunites soldiers with dogs they’ve bonded with while they were deployed. It’s a mission inspired by Farthing’s own experience serving in Afghanistan with the British military. After the Taliban takeover, he launched Operation Ark and managed to evacuate his staff from the country, along with hundreds of their animals.

“Sadly, there’s always going to be a need for animal welfare somewhere in the world. So once our staff are happily resettled, then we’re gonna look at where we can go next.”

Razia Jan was honored as a CNN Hero in 2012 for her efforts to educate girls in a rural community outside of Kabul through her non-profit, Razia’s Ray of Hope. Her school had grown to have more than 800 students when the Taliban took over in August. While girls up to age six have been allowed to return to class, older students were barred from attending school. But Jan has gotten permission for them to use the school library so they can continue their education at home. She is eager to return to Afghanistan so she can advocate for her students.

“I’m not fearful at all. If I’m there, I can negotiate with them. The Taliban, they have mothers, sisters, wives. And if you don’t educate them, that is such a loss.”