a total of $250,000. please do it now at cnnheroes.com. throughout the evening, we ve had the chance to applaud the brilliant service of so many honorees who dedicated their lives to their critical work. but sometimes something astonishing happens and a person in the face of tremendous adversity finds the courage and grace to put others lives and safety ahead of his or her own. the woman you re about to meet is remarkable. she certainly did what i just described. she did that and then some on the morning of august 20th, when a troubled 20-year-old man armed with an assault rifle and about 500 rounds of ammunition, walked into the school where she works outside atlanta, georgia. there is an active shooter at mcnair elementary school. the authorities are surrounding the school. bookkeeper antoinette tuft is trapped inside with the gunman and dialed 911. i m in the front office. he just went outside and started
behind their inspiring work. find out who you chose as hero of the year. this is cnn heroes, an all-star tribute. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host for the evening. anderson cooper. thank you very much and welcome to cnn heroes, an all-star tribute. we re here in the whale room, for obvious reason, to honor the generosity and hard work of men and women who are changing the world. also known as the night i put on a suit and try not to cry in front of everybody. we were taught to always suppress our emotions, but it s hard to on a night like tonight. you re going to meet ten heroes tonight. heroes who care for the sick, project the environment and do so much more. throughout the night, i hope
those places, and only half of the students graduate from high school. to share our next story about a woman who uses dance and discipline and hard work to give a group of resilient kids hope, please welcome a proud supporter of ovarian cancer research and the supporter of st. jude children s research hospital, the hosts of live with kelly and michael, my friends kelly ripa and michael strahan. [ applause ] we re trying not to be afraid, right? we re trying to push through our fear of public speaking. i love new jersey because my dad was born and raised in camden. i was born and raised not far from that city as well. and michael, i am told, loves new jersey because he played, allegedly, for a football team there, right? yeah. you re right. see that? and we both love our next hero because of what she has done for new jersey, changing the lives
we as a society have to take care of one another and raise the collective consciousness around the issue of food deserts and food insecurity. my hope is that people everywhere will support this work to ensure the basic human right of all people to have unfettered access to clean, healthy, life-giving food. thank you. [ applause ] next on cnn heroes, sara bareilles salutes our ten heroes. and later, one of these extraordinary men and women will be named the 2013 cnn hero of the year. cnn heroes, an all-star tribute. hey wayne, quick question.
the peace foundation, which is rural african communities with economic developments, star of this season s board walk empire, catching fire, jeffrey wright. thank you. thanks, anderson. work doesn t always have to feel like work. it can be decent, noble, gracious, in its scope and in its promise. that is how dr. george welle does his work. when his father for 21 years, he slipped in and out of consciousness. that is why george made a promise to his father, that when he became a doctor, he would take care of his people. years later, he start ed starte