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These 10 people are making the world a better place and now, they have been named the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2021.
They were all nominated by you — our audience — and selected by CNN to each receive a $10,000 prize. And now you can vote on who you think should be named CNN Hero of the Year and receive an additional $100,000 for their cause.
To find out who is named Hero of the Year, you’ll have to watch “The 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute,” hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa on Sunday, December 12, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
CNN Heroes has been spotlighting the impactful work of people across the world since 2007. Here’s a look at this year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes:
Jenifer Colpas: Bringing clean water and power to rural villages in her country
Her cause: Jenifer Colpas co-founded Tierra Grata in 2015, a non-profit that provides access to clean water, solar-powered lights and electricity along with eco-toilets and showers for remote rural communities throughout Colombia. Colpas and her team currently serve 35 communities and their services have helped improve the quality of life for more than 10,000 people.
What inspired her: Growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, Colpas was mostly shielded from the poverty outside her door. After college, she moved to India for a job in information technology. There, she became aware of vast social inequalities.
“Something inside me (was) saying, ‘You need to do something about it,'” Colpas said.
She decided to change her career path and return home, where she co-founded Tierra Grata, which means “gratitude to the earth” in Spanish.
Read more about Jenifer Colpas and her work
Lynda Doughty: The seal rescuer
Her cause: For the past decade, Lynda Doughty’s nonprofit, Marine Mammals of Maine, has provided response efforts, assistance and medical care for more than 3,000 marine animals.
The group monitors 2,500 miles of coastline and operates a 24-hour hotline, responding to calls about distressed or deceased marine mammals, and it has federal authorization to provide temporary care for critically ill and injured seals. Data gathered on these animals allows Doughty and her team to monitor trends in diseases and human impact on marine mammal health.
What inspired her: Growing up in coastal Maine, Doughty developed a passion for the marine wildlife living along the coast and knew from an early age that she wanted to dedicate her life to protecting them.
“I just remember being so amazed (by them) and wondering what’s happening in their life,” Doughty said.
She also became aware that their livelihood was jeopardized by pollution, habitat destruction and other human-related activity.
“I knew that I wanted to do something to help these animals,” Doughty said.
She became a marine biologist and worked for several years with organizations that provided emergency response and rehabilitation for sick and injured marine mammals. But as nonprofits and state agencies lost funding or closed their doors, Doughty decided to step in and fill the gap.
Read more about Lynda Doughty and her work
