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CNN Live Event/Special

Young Wonders, A CNN Heroes Special. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired December 06, 2019 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: They are breaking down barrier 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.

COOPER: And are reminders that you're never too young to change the world. Tonight we're honored to share their uplifting stories. This is Young Wonders, a CNN Heroes Special.

Hey, I'm 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 you're 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. We're thrilled to introduce you to this year's 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 you'll be inspired by their efforts. These remarkable kids will also make an appearance at CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute this Sunday night. Kelly Ripa will again, join me as co-host as we honor this year's top 10 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. 18-year-old, 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, didn't have the same opportunity to reach their goals, nope, she dove in to change all of that.

Jemima created the Tadcaster Stingrays? It's an inclusive swim squad for kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They get the same chance to train with their friends, compete and they reap the lifelong benefits of being part of a team. Coach Jemima, showing her swimmers that their worth included, they matter, and they can go the distance.

JEMIMA BROWNING, CNN HEROES: I've 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. I've 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 own ways through swimming.

It hit really, really hard that Will wasn't afforded the same opportunities that my sister and I were. He's not got a lack of aspiration. He's got a lack of opportunity. It almost felt like society was telling us that he shouldn't swim, and we're not going to provide for him. I decided that if the world wasn't going to create opportunities for people like my brother, then I was the one to do something.

Four 100s, so four lengths, four times.

Tad Caster Stingrays is 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, you're on the 30.

The Sessions themselves just create a really safe environment for the swimmers where they can just be themselves and people don't say, they've got a disability, therefore they can't 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 100 as I am, because I want to get that easy part in.

[22:05:00]

But I don't allow them to mess around. I make sure they're pushing themselves. I make sure they're progressing in their swimming and make sure that they're seeing the achievements themselves because I think that's really important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freya is a great kid. She is happy. I defy anyone to be around her and not smile.

BROWNING: Good, Freya. Well done. Can I have two more of your swim, and then we'll go into our kick, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If she has something in mind, she will achieve it. It might take her a little bit longer, but she'll get there. Freya has always wanted to be a part of afterschool activity groups. As she got older, it was becoming an increasingly difficult for mainstream groups to include Freya.

I started to see that she was isolating herself, and she could see that she wasn't 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 there's very little out there.

BROWNING: Can I see some super good swimming?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.

BROWNING: Oh, yes. There we go.

When Freya first joined stingrays, she could speak approximately 10 words. And that's not because she didn't know how to speak the words. It was because she was too scared, because of people hadn't taken the time to listen to her. Big arms! And then when she came to Stingrays, she's developed that much that she will talk to anyone and everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I see Freya arrive at Stingrays -- sorry -- it made your heart burst.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep going!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on out, Freya.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It affects mom, dad, brother, grandparents. They join in in that happiness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did that for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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. I have no idea who they are. They know her more than they know us now and it's because she engages with people.

BROWNING: I've seen an incredible amount of changes in all of my swimmers. The swimmer skills themselves have improved massively. They're getting so much faster, so much stronger. I think more than that, I've seen the change in the swimmers' friendship.

Listen up, Will, Freya, Andrew and Cassie, team two.

They've all become such a close-knit group. They make sure that they cheer on each other even if they're competing against each other. They'll still support each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes! BROWNING: 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.

All right. 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 couldn't tell who was Will and who was George and who was any other swimmer, because they just fit in so well. There's no isolation there.

I have always found it difficult thinking about Will in the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, four, five.

BROWNING: 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 I've been able to play in creating an opportunity for him will continue and he feels like he's worthwhile and he's happy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think Jemima realizes the enormously positive impact she has on other people and their families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are from triathlons.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Freya was younger, we were told that she wouldn't walk, she wouldn't talk. We were given short life expectancies.

[22:10:03]

So, to look at her now as a Special Olympics athlete, winning gold medals, being an ambassador for a triathlon --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's hear it for Freya.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- I don't know what Freya's life would be like if she hasn't found Stingrays. It was Stingrays that brought Freya back to life.

BROWNING: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, Freya!

BROWNING: 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 people's lives. They can absolutely show other people that just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't do exactly the same as everybody else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stingrays!

COOPER: Jemima hopes the swim squad serves as a springboard for a more inclusive future.

Coming up, meet a 12-year-old who is helping the homeless one blessing bag at a time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. For most 12-year-old boys, I think it's fair to say that hygiene is not on the top of the list of their priorities. I think this is pretty well documented. But Jahkil Jackson knows just how valuable a bar of soap or toothbrush to be to somebody. When he was 5, Jahkil 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.

And 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.

[22:15:11]

JAHKIL JACKSON, CNN HEROES: 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.

NA-TAE JACKSON, JAHKIL'S MOTHER: Jahkil definitely keeps me on my toes constantly. He's fun. He's irritating.

I got to finish making your bed up. He has a very busy schedule. He is very thoughtful. He's going through the tween thing and having attitude at the drop of a dime.

You do it.

He's high-spirited, lots of energy. Jahkil is a typical 12-year-old. He just happens to have an organization that he runs.

J. JACKSON: I'm the founder of Project I am, an organization that helps the homeless with bags full of toiletries items, and the different things that they need.

You're welcome. God bless.

I was 5 years old and my aunt took me and my cousins to go feed the homeless, and I didn't 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 don't have the resources that they need to support themselves. So I really wanted to help.

NT. JACKSON: As the time went on, the next couple of years he just wouldn't let it go. Every time he would see a homeless person, he would literally tear up in a car and get upset. So, when we saw this was something that he really was forming a passion for, we decided to try to help him figure out how he can help them at his level.

J. JACKSON: 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 of toiletry items. We also go and purchase items when needed.

Two, three.

Travel size.

We need granola bars. We need Band-Aids. 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 we're trying to pack about 250 bags. Is everybody ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

J. JACKSON: 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. Don't 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.?

NT. JACKSON: Jahkil is an only child, but he does have a big brother, our dog J.J.

Lay down.

J. JACKSON: Lay down. No. Down. Down.

NT. JACKSON: J.J. totally does not listen to him. He's like the perfect big brother. He's like, whatever, get away from me. I don't want to talk to you. Total big brother. We are family.

J. JACKSON: The people that help me with the organization is my dad and my mom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got a lot of inventory where we can create 500 bags already?

J. JACKSON: This is my grandmother, Gigi. This is my grandma, she's very heavily involved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is definitely a family affair. We kind of just all pitch in. What's your marketing strategy? Jahkil, he does run the show. We kind of try to take his lead. I totally work for my son.

J. JACKSON: You're fired. You're no longer my assistant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get fired once a month.

J. JACKSON: I'm sorry for firing you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it's a lot of busting of chops that happens.

J. JACKSON: I do see a lot of homeless people around Chicago. Any number is a high number. There shouldn't be any of this.

NT. JACKSON: It really upsets him to see people on the street. It just really does something to his soul.

[22:20:00]

J. JACKSON: Eleven, 12. Right now we're 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

J. JACKSON: And I see the smile on their faces. It gives me a smile on my face to know that I'm helping others.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

J. JACKSON: You're welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, young lady. Thank you, young man.

J. JACKSON: You're welcome. I do also go to shelters to distribute the bags. Can you bring some more bags over here, mom?

SANDRA RAMSEY, CORNERSTONE COMMUNITY OUTREACH: This is a homeless shelter that serves about 300 people.

J. JACKSON: You're welcome. God bless.

RAMSEY: We give them beds and the three meals a day, but things like, you know, deodorant, soap and all that, we really go through that a lot. I always say that hygiene products are like gold to us, because there's a continuous need, and people use it up. And that's why when Jahkil comes along with his blessing bags, it fits an immediate need. And so that's what we really appreciate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a heart of gold, what you're doing. Don't stop. I really appreciate it. I've been here for two months. My House caught on fire, and I feel like this gave me hope today. I know it's better days coming now. I feel like somebody cared enough to bring us something like this.

J. JACKSON: I've 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, I've 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 don't wait to be great, and I say that because I believe that us as young people do not have to wait until we're adults to become young change agents.

NT. JACKSON: 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.

J. JACKSON: This was a great moment for me to know that President Obama knows my name just inspires 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. I'll check up with him about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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. There's another group in Hong Kong. They were so inspired that they went out and passed out blessing bags.

J. JACKSON: It was really awesome to see how my organization got all the way out there.

NT. JACKSON: I do think that Jahkil is unstoppable. I don't even think that he realizes how much he's unstoppable, but he's getting there.

J. JACKSON: Well, 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.

COOPER: Jahkil is on track to surpass his goal of giving out 15,000 bags this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up, a teen from south jersey who teamed up with his community to support local veterans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young man, you're doing a great thing, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:25:00]

COOPER: 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 in his community. Bradley Ferguson learned that a nearby American legion post was in desperate need of repair. So, he and dozens of fellow student's volunteers got to work with the service project, host 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 post and bridge to connection between youth and the veterans.

BRADLEY FERGUSON, CNN HEREOS: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The place really needed a lot of work, and Marian Devine, a teacher at the school up the street, decided well, let's get some people together and let's make this happen.

The whole place was just dark and dingy, kind of seemed like a dungeon. That really just made us want to make this place a great community center for everybody.

[22:30:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We knew renovations would cost a lot of money. Then he became aware of lots of student grants. I didn't help him write grants, and he got really good at it.

BRADLEY FERGUSON, CNN HEROES: We've renovated the entire kitchen pretty much. We added brand-new subway tiles. We added new appliances. The floor is completely redone. The bathrooms, we pretty much added fully. They didn't exist before. The ceiling was moldy, and it was falling apart. So we just added brand-new ceiling.

So the outside, the whole backyard was completely overgrown, and we had to weed the entire backyard. We built a brand-new deck. We added new fencing. We added a bunch of picnic benches that we built and painted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People that had been here before literally don't recognize the place. It was a win-win for everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something that changed Bradley's focus with helping veterans was a horrific and tragic event.

FERGUSON: One day my parents and I were driving past the local V.A. Clinic, and a veteran there took his own life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, brad's very young, so we had to explain to him what happened.

FERGUSON: It really made me want to help out the veterans even more and do more for them on a more personal level.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He started to investigate homelessness and veterans.

NATE, VIETNAM VETERAN: My name is Nate. I'm a Vietnam veteran serving in the U.S. Navy. I wind 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 didn't know how I was going to get out of the street, you know. I was like I'm getting ready to go down, and I don't 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 who's donating meals? American legion, this kid Bradley.

FERGUSON: We're able to help veterans living in transitional housing in Atlantic City through making full-course meals for them. We decided to plant a victory garden in the backyard. We started off with nine beds. And we wanted to do this because we wanted to be able to grow fresh produce, and now it has about like 27 raised beds.

TOMMY MCGOWAN, STUDENT VOLUNTEER: 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, it's crazy. It's completely organic. Instead of using chemicals as pesticides, we use ladybugs as pesticides, because they don't eat the crops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kids got some great hands-on experience that they might not have gotten.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They put their entire hearts into it. They loved what they were doing.

FERGUSON: Everything we grow here goes back into the full meals we use for the veterans. All right. So today you're going to make the chicken kebabs. You're 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything's so good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do you find a burger like this? The taste.

FERGUSON: We had a bunch of volunteers and veterans show up, and we were able to socialize with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We actually were looking forward to the barbecue there. I had everything on the menu. FERGUSON: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good game.

FERGUSON: 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 four-course meals to the veterans living in transitional housing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young man, you're doing a great thing, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

[22:35:05]

FERGUSON: 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. And so far we've done about 13,000 of them. I know that these problems aren't solved, so I'm still going to write grants when I'm in college.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wanted to be part of the solution, and he still wants to be part of the solution. He's inspired hundreds of students. As an 18-year-old who has done so much, I can't imagine what he's going to do for us.

FERGUSON: No matter how old you are, you can still create change. If people work together, then change will happen.

COOPER: Bradley is now a freshman at Harvard. He's 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I guess the happiness fairy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:40:00]

COOPER: 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 a 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 15-year-old was inspired to help other kids do the same. She started the We Cancerve Movement and for the last seven years, Grace and her team have shown thousands of children that happiness and fun don't have to wait.

GRACE CALLWOOD, CNN HEROES: 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. I've 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Are you having fun?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

CALLWOOD: I had gone to the doctors on my seventh birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I knew something was wrong with her that entire summer. I could see it in her eyes. I don't 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.

CALLWOOD: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was the longest 3 1/2 years I ever faced, watching her go through chemo. She was in so much pain. She absolutely lost a normal childhood.

CALLWOOD: 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 there's always an opportunity to bring happiness to other people. There's always a bright side to something. We Cancerve 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Grace first came up with the idea to start We Cancerve, I was dead set against it. My child was fighting cancer, and that's all I cared about was her health. But she was persistent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A possible project opportunity at DSS of Hartford County.

CALLWOOD: I am the founder, president, chairwoman of the organization, and we have an all-youth board of advisers. It's a huge learning experience, becoming a leader at such a young age. It's a lot of fun though, because youth just have a different way of looking at the world.

That would be so much fun.

I'm 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 that you 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a baseball.

CALLWOOD: I went down to the playroom, and I gathered up beach theme supplies. And before you know it, we're 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?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fine.

CALLWOOD: That's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was throwing up all day.

CALLWOOD: 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. I definitely want to encourage you. You have your mom and your team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my dog.

CALLWOOD: 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 with figuring out if it was my fault. And eventually I learned that it wasn't, and I wanted to make sure that other kids didn't feel that way either and that they could always have something to make them smile.

[22:45:09]

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 teen girls in foster care, giving them clothes appropriate for work and worship.

CALLWOOD: There's no cost so you can go crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's always kind of difficult because every placement that you get, you're basically uprooted. You don't know anyone. You don't always have the same clothes as you had. You lose a lot of things moving. I didn't 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.

CALLWOOD: A lot of them have a pretty good amount of fun. Just knowing that they have this nice boutique, it's not as big as a regular store, but it does look professional because we put a lot of time in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so cute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grace is really intuitive. She's very open- armed. She's never looking down on anyone.

CALLWOOD: It was definitely important to me to make sure that they knew that we cared about them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I created camp happy. In 2015, when I was 10 years old. We had gone to Anna's House because we heard they were a local shelter for women and children.

JENNIFER CROSSON, ANNA'S HOUSE: 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. It's not healthy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready, set, go!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to be an astronaut so I can actually discover these planets myself.

CALLWOOD: 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.

We're 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. It's simple but it's 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This whole uncertainty around her health was kind of a cloud around her birthday. I just didn't want the carnival party to ever be a memory of sadness for her.

CALLWOOD: It's a good way to kind of think of the positive that has come out of what I've been through, and the kids always have a ton of fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ring this bell three times well. It's tolled to clearly say, my treatment's done, this course is run, and I am on my way.

(BELL RINGING)

CALLWOOD: On February 7th of 2019, I was declared cured, which means that the cancer hadn't come back within those five scary years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You get a certificate.

CALLWOOD: So it was a big celebration, and it was a lot of fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 life-changing. It was like she was welcoming a new life.

CALLWOOD: One of the most rewarding parts of We Cancerve is the impact it makes on all skills, the personal impact makes knowing that, wow, I had this idea and now it's helping thousands of kids every year. I do feel like I guess the happiness fairy.

If you try hard enough and if you have the right attitude, you can find happiness. There's always a way to do it.

COOPER: 20,000 kids have benefited from Grace's 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.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:50:00]

COOPER: Welcome back. These days there's certainly an appetite for good news. Unfortunately, there's no shortage of good samaritans all over the world. And tonight we want to recognize some of the young every day heroes whose good deeds made headlines this year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: On days when the world feels like it's moving at the speed of

light, these kids are a reminder. That there's always time to slow down and lend a helping hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're up at 4:30.

COOPER: In New Jersey, five high school seniors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just wanted to help guys, neighbor, help do something do a good deed.

COOPER: Discovered their neighbor desperately needed to make it to dialysis appointments. So, they shoveled her snowed driveway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I came out here at 6:00 a.m. The whole driveway was completely clear. So I could get out. And I did. I got to dialysis safely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it your birthday?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep, my birthday.

COOPER: These teen football players in Idaho found out only one person RSVP'd to nine year-old Christina Larson's birthday party. So they surprised him. Showing up at a crucial time is what this 19 year- old crane operator did in northeast China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the time the fire and smoke were very, very close to them.

COOPER: When a seven story building went up flames, he jumped to action. One by one, he plucked 14 people dangling out of their smoke filled windows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: the temperature was incredibly hot. My face was really burning.

COOPER: And saved the lives of a mother and her son standing dangerously close to the flames. And these teens are giving this 9 year-old Carson Winter's the gift of living a fuller life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seizures, he's had heart surgeries and cancer, and all sort of things.

COOPER: Carson is getting a free motorized chair built by the Farmington high school robotics team in Minnesota. The students created two of them earlier this year. So the Winters decided to ask for help.

[22:55:09]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got some mobility. But he's never got freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Movement is happiness for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm incredibly proud of the kids we have here. The time they put in. The joy stick, all the wires running through here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am soldering the ground to the joystick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do assemble a circuit board. Which is probably the most complicated part of it.

If the parents want to control it themselves they'll press a button on their phone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know they're young and haven't lived through a whole lot. But to do something like this that can be so life changing, it's really amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get emotional. So, it's awesome.

COOPER: Near Birmingham, Alabama, five year-old Austin Perine fulfills his daily kindergarten duties. Back home he transforms into this. Super-hero with a super-talent.

AUSTIN PERINE, CNN HEROES: I have been feeding the homeless a little over a year now.

COOPER: Austin's father Teejay had no idea his sons kind curiosity would take him this far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He asked me could I take him to see what a homeless person looked like and that's what I did. Every time he goes out with his cape on, he hands someone a sandwich.

COOPER: Soon, Austin was giving out food every other weekend and he hasn't stopped.

PERINE: Don't forget to show love. Today we're at West Alabama food bank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're so inspired by him and excited to have him here. The secret meal program is for students that might not have food during the weekend when they're not at school across the state of Alabama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just the eye opening experience for me as a father and for the rest of America to see a kid that just had that much compassion. That didn't see any flaws in people. He just wanted to help.

COOPER: In Connecticut, 13 year-old Ellacot Kasana (ph) turned her stressful experience into a way to bring relief to other kids.

Ella was 7 years-old when she was diagnosed with ITP.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ITP is a platelet disorder which means that without the medicine that I get through the infusion my platelet count is really low. So, it's not safe to really do things like play sports or participate in gym class.

COOPER: Intimidated by the I.V. bag. She had an idea. Cover it with a Teddy bear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We gave one to a child in my school. Who is receiving chemotherapy? And she said that she was really relieved to not look at the bag of medicine and blood product anymore.

We have another box coming.

COOPER: Recruiting family and friends they have made hundreds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dream is that every child who wants a Teddy is able to have one.

COOPER: In El Paso, Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It reads, be kind all day all night, every day, every night.

COOPER: Eleven year-old Ruben Martinez started a campaign to bring healing to his community. Over the summer at a Walmart in their neighborhood, 22 people were killed in a mass shooting.

RUBEN MARTINEZ, CNN HEROES: After the shooting I was scared.

COOPER: His mother suggested he turn his fear into fuel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said why don't you go think of something. I said that that you can do to help or to feel better. So, he went to his room, about 30 minutes later he comes with his notebook, where he had written #elpasochallenge on top.

COOPER: That challenge do 22 good deeds to honor the people who were killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I posted it on Facebook and then I also posted it on Twitter.

MARTINEZ: And then it just started going viral. Everybody wanted to do it.

COOPER: Thousands were touched and joined in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Australia, we got radio station in London.

COOPER: Including these two El Paso teachers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were the one that started the #elpasochallenge? As of yesterday the hash tag had gotten over $10,000 donated. So, I have a lot of books donated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We took on this challenge and we had over 550 stuffed animals donated.

COOPER: Ruben hasn't stopped either.

MARTINEZ: Today, I'm spreading kindness. COOPER: And giving gift cards away at Starbucks, to baking cookies

for firefighters. This sixth grader wants to show the ripple effect that even one good deed can have.

MARTINEZ: Everybody from all over the world should be kind.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Such an inspiring group. There you have them. If you want to learn more about the amazing kids that you met tonight. Go to CNN hereos.com. We are thrilled with this year's young wonders will be joining us at the 13th annual CNN heroes an all-star tribute which is live this Sunday night. We are going to honor this year's top 10 heroes and find out who will be named the 2019 CNN hero of the year. I'm co-hosting with friend Kelly Ripa. It's going to be a very fun night and very inspiring. I hope you joins us. Thanks for watching. Good night.