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[ dramatic music ]ing ] ahhhh ahhhh elliott. You came back they are breaking down barriers, creating inclusive opportunities for young people with disabilities, giving out necessities to help People Living on the streets, providing meals and camaraderie for veterans getting back on their feet, bringing happiness to kids living in difficult circumstances. Already these young people are making a difference. Oh, yeah. And are reminders that youre never too young to change the world. Tonight were honored to share their uplifting stories. This is young wonders a cnn heroes special. Hey, im anderson cooper. Life is full of ups and downs. We all know this. But there are some days when the problems of the world just feel relentless, so much so that the prospect of hiding under a rock or going off the grid might seem enticing. But tonight youre going to meet the next generation who offers a beacon of hope and the promise of a better tomorrow. These young people prove there are always solutions and kindness and empathy know no limits. Were thrilled to introduce you to this years young wonders, four ordinary kids who found extraordinary ways to bring more decency and light into this world. Despite their young age, they are selfless leaders who see people in need and help them, simple as that. As you meet these young wonders, i hope youll be inspired by their efforts. These remarkable kids will also make an appearance at cnn heroes an allstar tribute this sunday night. Kelly ripa will again join me as cohost as we honor this years top ten cnn heroes live from the American Museum of Natural History in new york. Now, to kick things off, we travel across the pond to northern england. 18yearold Jemima Browning has been a swimmer all her life. She shares a love of the sport with her siblings, especially her brother will, who has down syndrome. When jemima realized that young people like will didnt have the same opportunity to reach their goals, well, she dove in to change all of that. Jemima created the tadcaster stingrays. Its an inclusive swim squad for kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They reap the lifelong benefits of being part of a team. Shes showing her swimmers that their worth included, they matter, and they can go the distance. Ive always been a very sports person. My main sport was swimming, and it was a massive part of my life. I really enjoy the feeling of being able to push myself further than i ever thought i would be able to, get my head down and just forget about whatever worries are going on outside. Will is my brother. He is also my absolute best friend in the world. He has down syndrome. Will has always been will. Ive never looked to him and seen him any different. Swimming was one of those things that we found our whole family could get involved with, and we all went through our swimming lessons together, and we all achieved in our ways through swimming. It hit really, really hard that will wasnt afforded the same opportunities that my sister and i were. Hes not got a lack of aspiration. Hes got a lack of opportunity. It almost felt like society was telling us that he shouldnt swim, and were not going to provide for him. I decided that if the world wasnt going to create opportunities for people like my brother, then i was the one to do something. Four 100s, so four lengths, four times. Its a swim squad for young people with learning and physical disabilities from the age of 11 to 18. It affords them the equal opportunities that mainstream swimmers get to compete and to train with their friends. Freya, youre on the 30. The sessions themselves just create a really safe environment for the swimmers where they can just be themselves and people dont say, theyve got a disability, therefore they cant do this. We look at the person first. Stingray sessions run much like a mainstream squad session. I coach the sessions, and i have quite High Expectations of my swimmers. I make reasonable adjustments. We might not do both 100s im, because i want to get that easy part in. But i dont allow them to mess around. I make sure theyre pushing themselves. I make sure theyre progressing in their swimming and make sure that theyre seeing the achievements themselves because i think thats really important. Freya is a great kid. She is happy. I defy anyone to be around her and not smile. Good, freya. Well done. Can i have two more of your swim, and then well go into our kick, okay . If she has something in mind, she will achieve it. It might take her a little bit longer, but shell get there. Freya has always wanted to be a part of afterschool activity groups. As she got older, it was becoming increasingly difficult for mainstream groups to include freya. I started to see that she was isolating herself, and she could see that she wasnt being included. And so she was spending more time in her bedroom. Immediately alarm bells start to ring, and you think, we really, really need to find something for freya to become part of life. But theres very little out there. Can i see some super good swimming . Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. There we go. When freya first joined stingrays, she could speak approximately ten words. Thats not because she didnt know how to speak the words. It was because she was too scared because people hadnt taken the time to listen to her. Big arms when she came to stingrays, shes developed that much that she will talk to anyone and everyone. When i see freya arrive at stingrays sorry it made your heart burst. Keep going its really hard to see someone that you love isolating themselves. So when you have the reverse of that, it really makes it a big deal. Come on out, freya. It affects mom, dad, brother, grandparents. They join in in that happiness. I did that for you. Stingrays gave freya the confidence to go out there and engage with people. Freya works in our Village Football Club cafe, and she does teas and coffees. We go out sometimes, and people say, hi, freya. Weve got no idea who they are. They know her more than they do us now and its because she engages with people. Ive seen an incredible amount of changes in all of my swimmers. The swimmer skills themselves have improved massively. Theyre getting so much faster, so much stronger. I think more than that, ive seen the change in the swimmers friendship. Listen up, will, freya, andrew and cassie, team two. Theyve all become such a closeknit group. They make sure that they cheer on each other even if theyre competing against each other. Theyll still support each other. Yeah they can really set an example for what the rest of the world should be doing. Will, come on. We currently have two swimmers, will and george, that train twice a week with the mainstream squad and once a week with the stingrays. Push, lift, push, lift. The way that they have been accepted into the mainstream sport is far beyond anything that i could have imagined. My dad came onto the balcony the other day, was watching the swimmers expecting to be able to pick out will and george immediately because of the differences that there were. He couldnt tell who was will and who was george and who was any other swimmer because they just fit in so well. Theres no isolation there. I have always found it difficult thinking about will in the future. Three, four, five. But now i feel very optimistic about it. To me, he should be able to live a happy and fulfilling life just like everybody else, and i hope that the small part that ive been able to play in creating an opportunity for him will continue and he feels like hes worthwhile and hes happy. I dont think jemima realizes the enormously positive impact she has on other people and their families. These are from triathlons. When freya was younger, we were told she wouldnt walk, she wouldnt talk. We were given short life expectancies. So to look at her now as a Special Olympics athlete, winning gold medals, being an ambassador for a triathlon lets hear it for freya. I dont know what freyas life would be like if she hasnt found stingrays. It was stingrays that brought freya back to life. Fantastic. Double high five. I feel privileged to have been part of that and to be able to see her change into this beautiful young woman that she now is. Come on, freya i think that i will always work towards inclusion. I want my swimmers to take away from stingrays that they are valuable, they are incredible young people that can make a massive difference in other peoples lives. They can absolutely show other people that just because you have a disability doesnt mean you cant do exactly the same as everybody else. Stingrays jemima hopes the swim squad serves as a springboard for a more inclusive future. Coming up, meet a 12yearold who is helping the homeless one blessing bag at a time. Announcer young wonders a cnn heroes special is brought to you by cisco, the bridge to possible. Tune in to cnn heroes, an allstar tribute sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. And if i didnt find a donor, i probably wouldnt be here right now. Be the match uses the power of the Cisco Network to match donors with patients faster than ever, saving lives like maxs. Me and dylan are dna twins. Dylans like my brother. Cisco. The bridge to possible. [narrator] forget about vacuuming for up to a month. Shark iq robot deepcleans and empties itself into a base you can empty once a month. And unlike standard robots that bounce around, it cleans row by row. If its not a shark, its just a robot. Ladies and gentlemen mini is a different kind of car. For a different kind of drive. Ladies and gentlemen for the drive to create a new kind of family car, that became a new kind of race car. For the drive to rebel, zag. For the drive thats inside you. And inside us. Thats the drive under the hood of every mini. Because every mini is. For the drive. This inot this john smith smith. Or this john smith. Or any of the other hundreds of john smiths that are humana Medicare Advantage members. No, its this john smith, who met with humana to create a Personalized Care plan. At humana, we have more ways to care for your health, and we find one that works just for you. No matter what your name is. Announcer young wonders a cnn heroes special is brought to you by humana. Humana, more ways to care. Welcome back. For most 12yearold boys i think its fair to say that hygiene is not on the top of the list of their priorities. I think this is pretty well documented. But ja keel jackson knows just how valuable a bar of soap or toothbrush to be to somebody. When he was 5, he accompanied his aunt and cousins to feed the homeless in chicago, and it made him profoundly sad to see how people were living on the streets. He was determined to find a way that he could help. When he was just 8 years old, he started project i am. His nonprofit has since assembled and given out more than 30,000 blessing bags as jahkil calls them, filled with Hygiene Products and other necessities for people in need. My name is jahkil jackson. I am 12 years old. I am in the seventh grade. I go home and do homework like a regular kid. My other interests are basketball, tap dance. Jahkil definitely keeps me on my toes constantly. Hes fun. Hes irritating. I got to finish making your bed up. He has a very busy schedule. He is very thoughtful. Hes going through the tween thing and having attitude at the drop of a dime. You do it. Hes highspirited, lots of energy. Jahkil is a typical 12yearold. He just happens to have an organization that he runs. Im the founder of project i am, an organization that helps the homeless in the Different Things that they need. Youre welcome. God bless. I was 5 years old and my aunt took me and my cousins to go feed the homeless, and i didnt understand why there were so many people laying out there on the streets because at 5 years old, i thought that everyone had homes. It did make me sad to see how people were living out on the streets with sleeping bags and dirt, rats all over the place. It just made me feel bad to know that others dont have the resources that they need to support themselves. So i really wanted to help. As the time went on, the next couple of years he just wouldnt let it go. Every time he would see a homeless person, he would literally tear up. When we saw this was something he was forming a passion for, we decided to try to help them figure out how he can help them at his level. So we thought of the Different Things that can help those in need on a daily basis. This is a blessing bag. In the blessing bag, we have soap, tissues, socks, hand sanitizer, different snacks, conditioner, lotion. We just added a solar light. We collect donations 11 toiletry items. We also go and purchase items when needed. Two, three. Travel size. We need granola bars. We need bandaids. We assemble the blessing bags once or twice a month. So you guys want to help out with this . We have these packing parties. You guys come right here. Today were trying to pack about 250 bags. Is everybody ready . Yes all of the friends and family and volunteers come out and help. Make sure you get two of these and Everything Else is one. We get all of these different items and then we separate them. All right. Dont mess it up. Grab this one. You got this one. Then we go and an assembly line. We keep going and going and going. Good job. How you doing, j. J. . Jahkil is an only child, but he does have a big brother, our dog j. J. Lay down. Lay down. No. Down. Down. J. J. Totally does not listen to him. Hes like the perfect big brother. Hes like, whatever, get away from me. I dont want to talk to you. Total big brother. We are family the people that help me with the organization is my dad and my mom. You got a lot of inventory where we can create 500 bags already . This is my grandmother, gigi. My grandma, shes very heavily involved. This is definitely a family affair. We kind of just all pitch in. Whats your Marketing Strategy . Jahkil, he does run the show. We kind of try to take his lead. I totally work for my son. Youre fired. Youre no longer my assistant. I get fired once a month. Im sorry for firing you. So its a lot of busting of chops that happens. I do see a lot of Homeless People around chicago. Any number is a high number. There shouldnt be any of this. It really upsets him to see people on the street. It just really does something to his soul. 11, 12. Right now were going to pass out some blessing bags. We give out the bags to the people on the streets. God bless you. It is important to me to get to hand out the bags personally. God bless you. I feel like the reward is actually getting that reaction of them receiving the bag. Thank you. And i see the smile on their faces. It gives me a smile on their face to know im helping others. Thanks. Youre welcome. Thank you, young lady. Thank you, young man. Youre welcome. I do also go to shelters to distribute the bags. Can you bring some more bags over here, mom . This is a homeless shelter that serves about 300 people. Youre welcome. God bless. We give them beds and three meals a day, but things like deodorant, soap and all that, we really go through that a lot. I always say that Hygiene Products are like gold to us because theres a continuous need, and people use it up. And thats why when jahkil comes along with his blessing bags, it fits an immediate need. And so thats what we really appreciate. You have a heart of gold, what youre doing. Dont stop. I really appreciate it. Ive been here for two months. My house caught on fire, and i feel like this gave me hope today. I know its better days coming now. I feel like somebody cared enough to bring us Something Like this. Ive sent bags across the country and around the world. We just sent 600 bags to the survivors of hurricane dorian. In total throughout the three years of doing this organization, ive given out over 30,000 blessing bags. I also present to schools about my organization. Did you know that there are over 700,000 Homeless People in the United States . I do want to encourage kids to be a part of their community and to inspire them to make a big impact. My motto is dont wait to be great, and i say that because i believe that us as young people do not have to wait until were adults to become young change agents. I remember the moment when i found out barack obama was tweeting about jahkil. It took the organization to an entirely different level. It was very cool when jahkil got a chance to meet obama by meeting a superhero. This was a great moment for me to know that president obama knows my name. It just inspired me to keep doing what i was doing. And inspiring others. I told him about my goals for the future of the organization. He said he was going to help me with it. Ill check up with him about that. The interesting thing with jahkil is that he is now a role model with other young kids across the country, across the world actually, fourth graders in switzerland, they did a bake sale to raise 400 for jahkil. Theres another group in hong kong. They were so inspired that they went out and passed out blessing bags. It was really awesome to see how my organization got all the way out there. I do think that jahkil is unstoppable. I dont even think that he realizes how much that hes unstoppable, but hes getting there. What i want people to know about Homeless People is that they are people too. I think that me giving them blessing bags gives them hope and tells them that there are people out there that actually care about them. My hopes is for them to get off the street and back on their feet. There are a lot more Homeless People that i need to help. There are millions of more to impact. I do have a lot of work to do. Jahkil is on track to surpass his goal of giving out 15,000 bags this year. Coming up, a teen from south jersey who teamed up with his community to support local veterans. Young man, youre doing a great thing, man. Thank you. Announcer young wonders a cnn heroes special is brought to you by subaru. Love, its what makes subaru subaru. Tune in to cnn heroes an allstar tribute sunday night allstar tribute sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Ndsowow. grandfather that was me, seventy years ago. vo some things are worth preserving. You can choose the National Park foundation to get two hundred and fifty dollars from subaru when you get a new subaru, like the all new outback. vo 2 get 0. 9 during the subaru share the love event. Welcome back to young wonders a cnn heroes special. Atlantic city, new jersey, is home to some of the most visited casinos and beaches in america. But when our next young wonder took a closer look beyond the famous boardwalk, there existed a very different experience for veterans. He learned a nearby American Legion post was in desperate need of repair. So he and dozens of volunteers got to work with the service project, post crashers. Since 2014 the group has expanded and provided meals and camaraderie to veterans in transitional housing. Most of all, his dedication has restored the connection between youth and the veterans. I group up in south jersey right outside of Atlantic City. When several casinos closed down in 2014, the whole community was affected. A lot of people lost their jobs. Food and security and homelessness started to rise up. I would hear a lot of stories about how so many people in Atlantic City are struggling. That same year, i began to help out the veterans in my community. I went to my seventh grade teachers, and they came up with the idea of seeing if i would want to help out the American Legion post. The place really needed a lot of work, and marian devine, a teacher at the school up the street, decided lets get some people together and lets make this happen. The whole place was just dark and dingy, kind of seemed like a dungeon. That made us want to make this place a Great Community center for everybody. The first group of people that came, we had 70 people here. They started painting the walls. Have you ever seen a seventh grader paint for the first time . You know, it was a great learning experience for everybody. We knew renovations would cost a lot of money. Then he became aware of lots of student grants. I did help him write grants, and he got really good at it. Weve renovated the entire kitchen pretty much. We added brandnew subway tiles. We added new appliances. The floor is completely redone. The bathrooms, we pretty much added fully. They didnt exist before. The ceiling was moldy, and it was falling apart. So we just added brandnew ceiling. So the outside, the whole backyard was completely overgrown, and we had to weed the entire backyard. We built a brandnew deck. We added new fencing. We added a bunch of picnic benches that we built and painted. People that had been here before literally dont recognize the place. It was a winwin for everybody. Something that changed bradleys focus with helping veterans was a horrific and tragic event. One day my parents and i were driving past the local v. A. Clinic, and a veteran there took his own life. You know, brads very young, so we had to explain to him what happened. It really made me want to help out the veterans even more and do more for them on a more personal level. He started to investigate homelessness and veterans. My name is nate. Im a vietnam veteran serving in the u. S. Navy. I wound up down in new jersey. They sent the jobs overseas, and we were all out of work. And from there, you wind up homeless. You wind up with nowhere to go. I didnt know how i was going to get out of the street, you know. I was like im getting ready to go down, and i dont see the way out. In january, it will be two years here in the transitional housing. The first time we got them in, i was like whos donating meals . American legion, this kid bradley. Were able to help veterans living in transitional housing in Atlantic City through making fullcourse meals for them. We decided to plant a Victory Garden in the backyard. We started off with nine beds. We wanted to be able to grow fresh produce, and now it has about like 27 raised beds. I got involve with post crashers through my middle school. I mainly work outside. I harvest a lot of the plants. I plant a lot of the plants. We grow tomatoes. We grow peppers. We grow zucchini, cucumbers. We grow so much, its crazy. Its completely organic. Instead of using chemicals as pesticides, we use ladybugs as pesticides because they dont eat the crops. The kids got some great handson experience that they might not have gotten. They put their entire hearts into it. They loved what they were doing. Everything we grow here goes back into the full meals we use for the veterans. All right. So today youre going to make the chicken kabobs. Youre going to peel the onions and cut them and also cut the peppers. For the barbecue in the summer, we made burgers and hot dogs on the grill and corn, and we also made a tomato and cucumber tossed salad, which the veterans really liked. Everythings so good. Where do you find a burger like this . The taste. We had a bunch of volunteers and veterans show up, and we were able to socialize with them. We actually were looking forward to the barbecue there. I had everything on the menu. We had corn hole, and there was one veteran who was absolutely destroying everybody in the corn hole. We got like five in a row. It was just a really fun time. Good game. The reason why i like helping the veterans is because i know that it makes them happy. I think that just puts a smile on their faces, and like that really gives them joy. That makes me happy. We donated about 1,500 fourcourse meals to the veterans living in transitional housing. Thank you very much. Young man, youre doing a great thing, man. Thank you. In addition to helping the veterans, post crashers helps out the homeless in Atlantic City by making lunches that include Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches, and we put them in bags, and we deliver them to the Atlantic City rescue mission. So far weve done about 13,000 of them. I know that these problems arent solved, so im still going to write grants when im in college. He wanted to be part of the solution, and he still wants to be part of the solution. Hes inspired hundreds of students. As an 18yearold who has done so much, i cant imagine what hes going to do for us. No matter how old you are, you can still create change. If people work together, then change will happen. Bradley is now a freshman at harvard. Hes using the skills that he learned back home to help the homeless in cambridge, massachusetts. Up next, a teen who believes that no matter what life throws at you, happiness should never take a back seat. I feel like i guess the happiness fairy. Announcer young wonders a cnn heroes special, brought to you by cosentyx. See how real patients are finding real results at cosentyx. Com. But then i started cosentyx and i havent really had to think about it. Real people with psoriasis. Look and feel better with cosentyx. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen. Or if youve had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. They use stamps. Com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again. Get a 4week trial p [narrator] forget about avacuuming for up to a month. Shark iq robot deepcleans and empties itself into a base you can empty once a month. And unlike standard robots that bounce around, it cleans row by row. If its not a shark, its just a robot. Danafarber Cancer Institute discovered the pdl1 pathway. Pdl1. They changed how the world fights cancer. Blocking the pdl1 protein, lets the immune system attack, attack, attack cancer. Pdl1 transformed, revolutionized, immunotherapy. Pdl1 saved my life. Saved my life. Saved my life. What we do here at danafaber, changes lives everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Welcome back to young wonders. You might not realize this but in the United States, hundreds of thousands of kids are in foster care right now or living in homeless shelters. Thousands more are battling chronic illnesses in hospitals. For kids in these difficult situations, grace callwood considers herself a happiness fairy. At a young age, grace herself was faced with cancer. Yet despite all the pain and losing a normal childhood, she still found reasons to smile. And through her journey, the 15yearold was inspired to help other kids do the same. She started the we canserve movement and for the last seven years, grace and her team have shown thousands of children that happiness and fun dont have to wait. Whenever i think of happiness, i think of smiling or laughter or even tears of joy. Some of the things that bring me happiness are hanging out with my friends or my family, going to school. Ive always loved school. Being in the marching band, playing an instrument. I definitely like being around other people, making other people happy because seeing other people makes me happy, knowing i have a positive effect on others. My name is grace callwood, and i am 15 years old. Hi. Are you having fun . Yes. Okay. I had gone to the doctors on my seventh birthday. I knew something was wrong with her that entire summer. I could see it in her eyes. I dont know why. I just kind of flew out of my mouth and said, could it be lymphoma . Much to our surprise, weeks later we found out it actually was. I could tell that it was something bad and scary because of the way the doctors and my mom reacted, but i had no idea what cancer was or what it meant. That was the longest 3 1 2 years i ever faced, watching her go through chemotherapy. She was in so much pain. She absolutely lost a normal childhood. What i learned during my journey was that happiness can come from anywhere. You can make your own happiness, even in the midst of bad situations, and theres always an opportunity to bring happiness to other people. Theres always a bright side to something. We canserve is a Nonprofit Organization that helps homeless, sick, and foster children. We bring Swift Solutions to children in need because we believe that happiness should not have to wait. When grace first came up with the idea to start we canserve, i was dead set against it. My child was fighting cancer, and thats all i cared about was her health. But she was persistent. A possible project opportunity at dss of hartford county. I am the founder, president , chairwoman of the organization, and we have an allyouth board of advisers. Its a huge learning experience, becoming a leader at such a young age. Its a lot of fun because youth just have a different way of looking at the world. That would be so much fun. Im excited to give the buckets to the kids. We have beach in a bucket which we recently delivered to sinai hospital. Hi. This is for you. We put everything youd need for a beach party in a sand bucket. It was inspired by a true event that happened with me when i was in the hospital for about 14 days during a horrible ice storm. This is a baseball. I went down to the playroom, and i gathered up beach theme supplies. And before you know it, were having a beach party in february. It feels amazing to know i was able to bring happiness to a kid going through a similar thing as i did. How are you feeling today . Fine. Thats good. I was throwing up all day. At any time did you ever want to give up, or did your mom keep pushing you . It was a lot of pain. I was definitely hard. I was tired of getting sick all the time. I know it gets really hard, really painful and really tiring. You have your mom and your team. And my dog. Exactly. So you got to keep fighting for all of them and for yourself. Just being able to make that impact on someone having those good memories, remembering something good in the beginning of a treatment. Great job, everybody. What we can do next is we can go through the inventory. We have some clothes donated that are in the closet. I definitely found it important to not only help the kids with cancer but kids that are in sad situations that are not their fault. You can hang both of those up in the front. That was one of the things i struggled with when i was first diagnosed was figuring out if it was my fault. Eventually i learned that it wasnt, and i wanted to make sure other kids didnt feel that way either and that they could always have something to make them smile. We were able to create la magna feek boutique. We have a dressing room in the other room if you want to try stuff on. It is a boutique for girls in foster care. Theres no cost so you can go crazy. Its always kind of difficult because every placement that you get, youre basically uprooted. You dont know anyone. You dont always have the same clothes as you had. You lose a lot of things moving. I didnt have any work outfits or anything, so i went down there, and i got a work interview outfit, and i actually got the job, so that helped me a lot. A lot of them have a pretty good amount of fun. Just knowing that they have this nice boutique, its not as big as a regular store, but it does look professional because we put a lot of time in. Its so cute. Grace is really intuitive. Shes very openarmed. Shes never looking down on anyone. It was definitely important to me to make sure that they knew that we cared about them. I created camp happy. In 2015, when i was 10 years old. We had gone to annas house because we heard they were a local shelter for women and children. The children here have experienced, you know, significant amount of trauma. We wish we had some kind of Summer Enrichment Program for the kids in the shelter because just staying in the shelter all summer is not fun. Its not healthy. Ready, set, go they get to go back to school saying that they did something other than sit inside, sit at home. It keeps them out of trouble as well. Im going to be an astronaut so i can actually discover these planets myself. We bring in these phenomenal volunteer counselors and just having an older buddy to look up to took kind of see how life should be and behaviors that should be modeled. Were with camp happy. Just the Little Things that they get to experience, it takes away some of the pain that they have. The last day of camp is camp carnival. We all make our own games out of cardboard boxes, construction paper. Its simple but its a lot of fun. We put in a lot of work for it. Camp carnival is personal to me because my seventh Birthday Party was a carnival theme. This whole uncertainty around her health was kind of a cloud around her birthday. I just didnt want the Carnival Party to ever be a memory of sadness for her. Its a good way to kind of think of the positive that has come out of what ive been through, and the kids always have a ton of fun. Ring this bell three times well. Its tolled to clearly say, my treatments done, this course is run, and i am on my way. [ bell ringing ] on february 7th of 2019, i was declared cured, which means that the cancer hadnt come back within those five scary years. You get a certificate. So it was a big celebration, and it was a lot of fun. The day grace rang her bell marked the end of a very long and scary journey. I saw the whole wave of emotions that this child had experienced. It was lifechanging. It was like she was welcoming a a new life. One of the most rewarding parts of we cancerve is the impact it makes on all skills, the personal impact knowing that, wow, i had this idea and now its helping thousands of kids every year. I do feel like i guess the happiness fairy. Yay. If you try hard enough and if you have the right attitude, you can find happiness. Theres always a way to do it. 20,000 kids have benefited from graces efforts, and she has no plans to slow down. Coming up, meet the kids behind some of the good deeds that made headlines this year. Announcer young wonders a cnn heroes special brought to you by geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Visit geico. Com to see how much you can save. Tune in to cnn heroes an allstar tribute sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. O take a moment to say thank you to our military Service Members at home and abroad for all their hard work and sacrifice. We all sleep easier knowing youre out there keeping us safe. And on a personal note. Sfx jet engines. I just needed to get that off my chest. Thank you. Geico proudly supporting the military for over 75 years. Ladies and gentlemen mini is a different kind of car. For a different kind of drive. Ladies and gentlemen for the drive to create a new kind of family car, that became a new kind of race car. For the drive to rebel, zag. For the drive thats inside you. And inside us. Thats the drive under the hood of every mini. Because every mini is. For the drive. Welcome back. These days theres certainly an appetite for good news. Fortunately theres no shortage of Good Samaritans all over the world. And tonight we wanted to recognize the young every day heroes whose good deeds made headlines this year. On days when the world feels like its moving at the speed of light, these kids are a reminder. Theres always time to slow down and lend a helping hand. We were all up at 4 30. In new jersey, five high school seniors. Wanted to do a good deed. Discovered their neighbor desperately needed to make it to her dialysis appointment. So they shoveled in her snowed in driveway. When i came out here at 6 00 a. M. The whole driveway was completely clear. So i could get out. I did. I got to dialysis safely. Is it your birthday . These teen Football Players in idaho found out only one person rsvpd to 9yearold christians party. So they surprised him. Showing up at a crucial time is what this 19 yearold crane operator did in northeast china. At the time the smoke and fire were very close. When a 7story building went up in flames, he jumped into action. One by one he plucked 14 people dangling out of their smoke filled windows. The temperature was very hot. My face was really burning. And saved the lives of a mother and son standing dangerously close to the flames. These teens are giving this 9 yearold a gift of living a fuller life. Seizures and heart surgery. And cancer, all sorts of things. Carson is getting a free motorized chair built by the Farmington High School Robotics Team in minnesota. The students created two of them this year. So they decided to ask for help. He has some mobility. But not freedom. Movement is happiness for him. Im incredibly proud of the kids we have here. The time they put in. On the joystick all the wires run through here. I am soldering the ground to the joystick. We do assemble a circuit board, which is probably the most complicated part of it. If the parents want to control it themselves theyll press a button on their phone. I know theyre young and they havent lived through a whole lot, but to do Something Like this that can be so life changing, its really amazing. I get emotional. Its awesome. In birmingham, alabama, 5yearold austin fulfills his daily kindergarten duties. Back home he transforms into this. A super hero with a super talent. I have been feeding the homeless for a little over a year now. His father had no nd idea his sons kind curiosity would take him this far. He asked me to see what a homeless person looked like and thats what i did. Every time he goes out with his cape on, he hands someone a sandwich. He was giving out food every other weekend and hasnt stopped. Dont forget to show love. Today were at west alabama food bank. Were so inspired to have him here. The secret Meals Program is for students that might not have food during the weekend when theyre not at School Across the state of alabama. It was just an eye opening experience for me as a father and for america to see kid that had that much compassion. That didnt see any flaws in people. He just wanted to help. In connecticut a 3yearold turned her stressful experience into a way to bring relief to other kids. She was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with itp. Without the medicine i get from my infusion my platelet count is really low. So its not safe for me to do things like play sports or participate in gym class. Intimidated by the iv bag, she had an idea. Cover it up with a teddy bear. We gave one to a child in my school. Who is receiving chemotherapy. And she said she was really relieved to not look at the bag of medicine and blood product anymore. Recruiting family and friends theyve now made hundreds. My dream is that ever child who wants a medi teddy is able to have one. In el paso, texas it reads be kind all day all night, every day, every night. He started a campaign to bring healing to the community. Over the summer at a walmart in their neighborhood 22 people were killed in a mass shooting. After the shooting i was scared. His mother suggested he turn fear into fuel. I said why dont you think of something that you can do to help and feel better. So he went to his room and about 30 minutes later he came with his notebook where he had written el paso challenge on top. That challenge, do 22 good deeds to honor the people killed. I posted it online. It started going viral. Everybody wanted to do it. Thousands were touched and joined in. Australia, we got a Radio Station in london. Including these two el paso teachers. We were the one that started the el paso challenge. As of yesterday the hashtag had gotten over 10,000 donated, so i got a lot of books donated. We took on this challenge and we had over 550 stuffed animals donated. Ruben hasnt stopped either. Today im spreading kindness. From giving gift cards away at starbucks to making cookies for

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