they're cnn heroes. everyday people changing the world. these men and women never sought the spotlight. each year the interment stars come out to salute them. tonight, catch up with some past honoraries to see how they're still making a difference. come along with celebrities who left the fwlam mour of hollywood behind to see our heroes to action. folks like demi moore, gerard butler, george lopez, holly robinson-peete and j.r. martinez. meet a new group of individuals. join us as we celebrate people made giving their way of life. hey, i'm anderson cooper. to all of viewers, welcome. tonight, we're celebrating the spirit of giving by looking at people who give back all year round. our cnn heroes. in the past, this is the night that we brought cnn heroes an all-star tribute. this year, that broadcast will be live from los angeles on sunday, december 11th, at 8:00 p.m. join us for a remarkable night. if you're a fan of that show, you'll love tonight's show. for the past five years, we asked you to tell us about people in your communities who are making a difference. your nominations led us to cnn heroes. shining a spotlight on people who are rarely in the public eye. the result has been inspiring. since 2007, cnn viewers have helped us find these rare individuals cementing more than 40,000 nominations from 100 count countries. there all determined, resourceful, passionate and their missions run the gamut. sustaining life. preserving dignity. protecting the powpowerless. defending the planet. and nurturing the soul. >> we'll be here for you. >> they helped hundreds of thousands of people in 75 countries creating a legacy of change around the world. tonight, we gather to honor the best that top ten of the year. the celebrities-studded gala salutes their selfless work. >> they have been doing everything from the goodness of their heart. it's great to give people their attention. >> to help others, these are true heroes. >> that night we announced the hero of the year, the person with the most online votes who receives an additional $250,000. the spotlight benefits all of our heroes the best. our honoraries have raised more than $6 million in grants. >> to be showcased internationally is tremendous. >> with their courage and humanity, our cnn heroes are still lighting the way. as you have just seen, our cnn heroes live and give back all across the globes. ultimately, their stories have the save message -- that one person can make a difference. when this texas home builder realized how many hopes injured solders had to endure when they returned home, he decided to help. he decided to build homes. >> congratulations. >> being honored last year, dan's program has expanded from 1 to 5 states. he's now given 30 injured warriors a place to call home. we caught up with him. >> it's great to be back in l.a. again. 12 months ago, we were here at the cnn hero tribute show. and it's just been an incredible year. >> it's my honor to present cnn hero -- >> being a top ten cnn hero was just very humbling. the true heroes are the service men and women who answer the call. after the show aired, things just took off for us. we were contacted by abc extreme makeover, we did a home in ft. hood for a family there. they called us again. our story is getting out there just every day, we're building houses all over the united states now. we're out here in l.a. to visit a real good friend of ours. >> hey, twinkle toe. >> i have known j.r. martinez for about three years now. he's our national spokesperson. he was involved with "dancing with the stars." >> i have been watching you on tv and you have been amazing. i know it's hard to work with him. >> it's a pleasure to kick his butt. i do enjoy it. >> j.r. was a soldier in iraq. one of our wounded heroes. >> a tire went oh over a land mine. i was burned over 40% of my body. >> i want to see you dance. >> you don't know this but you're actually going to dance, too. >> i made a decision every single day to be positive, smile and just try to make the best of it. as i did that, more opportunities came to me. all my children and now "dancing with the stars." i just want to inspire. no matter war you face in life, you can win it. you can win the battle. >> good stuff. >> man, i'm so glad that you came out, you made it out to l.a. to come catch a show. >> we're proud of you. >> thank you. >> j.r. is bringing a lot of attention to these young men and women who have to deal with these incredible injuries. you being here just helps our cause. >> we wanted to honor those men and women who have given hair liv lives. ♪ >> that just -- i cried. >> it's amazing to think how far, you know, we have come. >> last year at this time, we were four, five homes. we're 32 homes now. it's unbelievable. we're changing lives. our goal is to build every one of the injured a new home. >> we just keep doing it, man. lot of more homes to be built. but right now, i bot to get to dance zblg all right, man. >> i'm going to teach you a little step, too. >> congratulations to j.r. martinez who won the "dancing with the stars" competition just a couple of days ago. if you're a fan of j.r. tune in december 11th he'll be co-hosting a red carpet preshow live at 7:00 right before cnn heroes an all-star tribute. it's a live show. coming up -- find out which of our past honoraries left in tears. >> so wonderful to be here. >> thank you so much no. i already called it. 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. people that are nominated at cnn heroes were people trying to find a solution to a problem that they thought needed fixed. >> all cnn heroes share a common bond when faced with a problem that many of us believe is too big to tackle. they take action. agnes is just one example. a salmon farmer from scotland, he found his mission in a pub when he wasn't able to forget the images of impoverished refugees that he had seen on the nightly news. he decided to do something. he started mary's meals. it feeds 580,000 kids every day. since being recognized as a cnn hero he's done more to help others. when he learned about the devastating famine in somalia, he once again decided it was a crisis he couldn't ignore. it's the most severe drought to hit east africa in 60 years. the u.n. refugee agency has called it the worst disaster in the world. tens of thousands have already died, more than half of them children. the united nations says three-quarter of a million somalians could starve to death in a couple of months. >> it's overwhelming to see the scale of the need here. most people when you see children on the brink of starvation, the first desire of all of us is to give the children something to eat. >> that's exactly what magnus has been doing since september when he brought 20 tons of food to mogadishu, somalia's capital. delivering the aid was a daunting challenge since a terrorist group has blocked them from entering the country. mary's meals used its regional partners to do what others couldn't. >> so often you hear it's not possible to get the food to the people that need it in somalia. we have seen today that it certainly is possible. this work is about people. it's really important for the people we're working for. how long has she lived here? >> three months. three months. >> why did she leave? >> they lost everything. >> everyone i've talked to here has walked long distances from their homes. they all talk about how their cattle have died, how they have no farms to go back to. the meal that we provide is a porridge mixture. very, very cheap but very nutritious. that's good. one meal costs six cents. >> mary's meals plans to ship a total of 200 tons of food by the end of the year. that's more than 2 million meals. it's been a life-changing journey for this one-time salmon farmer, who feels more at home helping others -- >> everybody look right here. >> -- than he does in the spotlight. >> the cnn heroes thing was a bit weird for me, because this isn't about me. there are thousands of people all over the world involved, but at the same time, it was most wonderful opportunity to tell people about mary's meals. thank you. >> this is an all-star tribute that turns the tables on the traditional awards show, bringing out celebrities to salute our everyday heroes. last year magnus was honored by his countryman, gerard butler, known for playing pretty tough roles on the big screen, but he found himself surprisingly moved by magnus' story. piers morgan recently spoke to him about it. here's what he had to say. >> last year you were a presenter on cnn heroes all-star heroes. you introduced magnus. tell me about that experience. >> i found myself reading this, about this incredible man and what he achieved. i was just very, very moved. please join me in honoring cnn hero and i'm proud that he's a fellow scotsman, magnus mcfarland battle. >> i was just completely choked up. it was the total pride that we were scottish and just the complete humility with which you felt everything about his story and the work he did. >> you actually went and saw magnus at his home, didn't you? tell me about that. >> i chased him down. we swapped a couple of phone calls. i went and spent the day with him and his family and saw his charity and all the people that work for him. that is such a worthy cause because they feed now more than half a million children every day all over the world. >> he's a remarkable man, isn't he? >> a remarkable man and a beautiful soul. really, i learned a lot from him just in the times that i've spent with him. coming up, demi moore travels across the world to fight sex trafficking alongside our 2010 cnn hero of the year. and later in the show george lopez pays a surprise visit to a hero. >> is that the door right there? >> yeah, that's the door. >> it smells delicious. who ate my cookies and milk? oh, brother. hey, guys. ni-i-i-ck. oh... i thought those were put out for me. i did it again. no worries, nick. [ sighs ] say, nick, you must be busy this holiday. oh, yeah, with all the great savings we got going on, it's been crazy. ooh, i got to dash away. customers lining up. ♪ [ male announcer ] this holiday, chevy's giving more. ♪ you like our heroes? >> i do. i love the heroes. that's beautiful. >> it's nice to see everyday people. >> that's the classiest thing on cnn. i love it. don't you think? that's really classy. >> do it every thanksgiving, i think, around thanksgiving. >> that's great. >> becoming a cnn hero has helped many of our honorees attract celebrity supporters allowing them to raise awareness and much-needed money for the important work. that's what happened to 2010 hero of the year. since 1993 she's been fighting sex trafficking in her native nepal. with her relentless determination, this tiny woman has rescued more than 12,000 girls. >> just imagine what would happen if your daughter was standing there, and if your daughter was there, what would you do? how would you fight? >> actress demi moore shares her passion about ending the sex trade. when they met at last year's tribute show, the bond was immediate and it led to a remarkable journey. from the first moment, demi's passion for anuradah's cause was clear. >> i admire our next hero because of the brave and serious work she does. she says stop. stop selling our girls. it is my honor to present cnn hero anarada carata. >> i asked everyone to join me to create a society free of trafficking. >> as they walked offstage, the personal connection was unmistakable. >> i'm thrilled. i feel so moved and inspired to continue the fight. >> just moments later her night got even more memorable. 2010 cnn hero of the year is anarada. >> thank you, thank you so much. >> demi was so inspired that months later she partnered with cnn's freedom project for the documentary "nepal's stolen children," heading to that country to see her work firsthand. >> so wonderful to be here. >> thank you so much for coming. >> i wanted to come to learn what you're doing that's working. >> demi was stunned by the stories she heard from the women and girls who had been saved by her. >> translator: at a brothel i was forced to have sex with men, and if i refused, they would burn cigarettes on my body. >> the border between nepal and india isn't very secure, making it a haven for sex traffickers. >> can you explain to me how it exactly works? >> every girl they watch. >> her team constantly monitor the area to save girls before they're taken out of the country. this is tuli from a small town. she was taken at a busy bus stop while traveling to the city and spent six months in a brothel in calcutta leaving behind a young daughter. her organization mighty nepal helped her escape and is bringing her back home for the first time. >> tuli, how do you feel to be home? >> translator: i feel very happy. >> if there's something that you would like me to say on behalf of you, i can pass that on. >> translator: nobody should be left like that. everybody should be punished. >> demi took their messages and her questions to nepal's former prime minister. >> what's happening here with trafficking? >> we have to develop more modern check points. >> she was impressed with demi's knowledge, commitment and genuine connection to the girls. >> translator: thank you for coming all the way and taking my story and sharing with everybody. >> i promise to do a really good job of sharing this so we can end this. >> what has it meant to her to be cnn hero of the year? >> becoming a hero of the year was really very prestigious thing for me because of cnn, because of money, because of demi moore. everybody is so aware of this issue. we were single-handed but now there are lots of people around the world and in nepal itself joining hands to fight this crime. we need to do this for all. thank you. >> you can see demi moore's visit later tonight in the freedom project documentary "nepal's stolen children." tonight you have heard about the impressive work being done by previous honorees. this year we are honoring a new group of upstanding individuals, the top ten heroes of 2011. each remarkable men and women receive $50,000 and will be honored at cnn heroes an all-star tribute, it's live from los angeles on december 11th at 8:00 p.m. eastern. each one has a shot to be named cnn hero of the year. that comes with global recognition and it brings an additional $250,000 to his or her organization. you can decide who that deserving person will be by voting right now online, on your tablet or mobile phone. just go to cnnheroes.com. the person with the most votes will be announced live on december 11th. so now meet five of this year's top ten cnn heroes. amy stokes from yonkers, new york. she's using the internet to redefine the word family. matching hundreds of teens lacking role models with caring adults from around the world. from anaheim, california, bruno serato. when he learned just how many motel kids in his area go to bed hungry, this chef began serving up a solution, one plate of pasta at a time. >> those are clean. that's very good. >> from lawrenceville, georgia derreck kayongo, turning trash into treasure. he gets tons of discarded hotel soap and reprocesses it to save lives in impoverished communities in nine countries. diane latiker from chicago, illinois, surrounded by neighborhood violence, she opened her home and invited gang members in. today she's turning the building next door into a safe haven for hundreds of teens. eddie canales from shirts, texas, after his son was paralyzed playing high school football, he devoted his life to supporting other young players sidelined by spinal cord injury. see the rest of this extraordinary group later in the hour, and you can find out more about all of our top ten cnn heroes on cnnheroes.com. in the spirit of giving, we made it easy to donate to these amazing individuals. just go to our website. all transaction fees are waived so 100% of your donation goes to their work. coming up, go inside one of california's maximum security prisons with actress holly robinson peete. find out which hero inspired actor rainn wilson to travel to the poorest country in the western hemisphere. >> all right. nice, huh? 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