Voting For A Cause - CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute

Written by guest blogger Bethany Bowen

What defines a hero? Someone who runs into a burning building? Someone who works two jobs to feed his or her children? Or is it someone who finds the cure for a disease? The term “hero” takes on its own unique description depending on the person using the term, and for each of us, the word probably generates a face.

CNN is currently asking for your vote to determine this year’s CNN Hero of the Year. This Thanksgiving night at 9 PM EST, CNN will air its “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The show will announce the winner of the online voting for CNN’s Heroes. This is the third annual contest that awards heroic people who exhibit extraordinary accomplishments. This year, over 9,000 nominations were received, and a Blue Ribbon Panel narrowed the field down to 10 finalists. The winner will receive a $100,000 grand prize, and the other nine finalists will receive $25,000. From an advocate for child prosthetics, to a cancer survivor mobilizing mammograms, these stories are amazing and are tissue-worthy to say the least.

My vote went to Brad Blauser, a Dallas, Texas native and a Texas A&M graduate. Blauser lives and works in war-torn Baghdad, Iraq, where he runs his non-profit organization, Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids. An estimated one in seven Iraqi children is disabled due to disease or illness. These children are viewed as liabilities, and many are left immobile or forced to drag themselves on the ground after becoming too big for their parents to carry. Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids has delivered over 650 wheelchairs to date, and Blauser has yet to cash a pay-check. I may be a little bit biased being a Texas A&M student, but Blauser’s dedication to change and passion for helping is what defines the term hero to me.

To read Blauser’s and the other nine finalists’ stories click here and vote for your 2009 CNN Hero. Voting ends November 19th at 6 AM EST. For ways to support charities or shop for philanthropic products visit Uptown Liz.