>> tell me just a little bit about gridiron heroes, how it got started. >> you know, it started after chris suffered a spinal cord injury. >> it was our last home game. we had to win this game to go to the playoffs. about four or five guys missed the tackle and i made the last touchdo touchdown. along with that, i broke my neck. >> he just reached his one-year anniversary date of his injury. chris was going through some hard times. he started to shut down on me. >> depression hit, and i was still in the wheelchair. >> so just to get him out of the house, i said, let's go to a football game. there was a state championship game. and at that game we ended up witnessing another spinal cord injury. as soon as chris saw that young man being put on that cart, chris turned to me and said, dad, we've got to go help him. i know what he's going to go through. you know what the family's going to go through. that was the inspiration behind starting grid iron heroes. gridiron heroes, we provide information, inspiration and hope. being there for the families long term, providing the equipment they need, financial help they need. okay. ready? well, two days ago we received a call that a young man had suffered a spinal cord injury playing football. chris and i drove ten hours to be here to go and visit with the family. you don't have to feel by yourself. there's other people that are going through this. well, luis was a football player out of vega high school. he was a running back. suffered a c-5 fracture. it's very tough for us when we go back. we have to relive chris's injury all over again. how you doing, luis? i'm eddie. that's my son, chris. it's all gone in an instant. someone's gone from being so independent and at the prime of his life, now becoming very dependent on some of the basic things, the simplest things that we all take for granted. >> they can be mad at the world. but i'll go in there to help them just to let them know that they're not alone through this process. >> never give up that faith, man. >> this is something that we have to do. we know that this is our purpose. and so we do it. >> who else you got here? >> i like to collect sports history. so, for me, like, i got some of the older guys like terry bradshaw. got the steel curtains. >> you know i'm not a big fan of the steelers. you know that, right? in all the time i've been with them, they don't talk at all about themselves and their struggles. they talk about how can they help someone else? how can they support another family? to me that's what a hero is all about. >> i've drawn inspiration from chris. because i know what it takes for him to be in that chair day to day. to me, that's a hero. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in honoring my friend, and cnn hero, eddie canales. >> those who love the game of football and support the game of football, we'd like for you to get behind us. and if it's okay with you, i'd like to bring my son chris out and share this with him. [ applause ] we ask that you help us provide what these families need. we cheer these young men on the football field. let's make sure we don't forget them now. thank you very much. >> welcome, guys. great speech, eddie. thanks, kurt. chris, nice to see you again. kurt, great to see you. i understand you were so impressed by eddie's story that you reached out to cnn yourself to get in touch with eddie and chris. what did you take away from that experience? >> well, it's just amazing to me to see all the people, not just eddie and chris, but all the people that are here and represented tonight. and what they're doing to impact another's life. that we can all accomplish great things, but what i've realized is that nothing is as great of an accomplishment as impacting somebody's life. and that's what these guys are doing on a daily basis. and i just think it's pretty amazing. >> they're coming up with real solutions to real problems. eddie, chris, thank you so much. kurt, of course, i really appreciate it. and we'll be right back after this. this next cnn hero -- this next cnn hero works in a country that i hold deep in my heart. he comes from haiti. nearly two years since the earthquake hit haiti, there are still so many in need. so many families still living in squalid tent camps. so many people without a home, a job, without a future. the power and the magic of haiti is in its people. and this next hero is a wonderful example of that. to welcome him to the stage, here's the founder of the i am home fund to help prevent struggling families from losing their homes, please welcome will.i.am. >> four years ago, patrice millet battled bone cancer. when the treatment started to work, he figured out what mattered most. it wasn't material. it was the desire to bring a little bit of joy to the kids in the poorest parts of port-au-prince. we forget what they went through. in the earthquake, many were trapped in darkness, under slabs of concrete without food, water, or the loving whisper of their parents telling them things would be okay. we forget what they are still going through. many are orphans living in tents and are traumatized by the screams they still hear at night. patrice gives them a belief from all the struggles. he is their moral compass. he guides them to become good citizens. patrice has one goal. and that's to give the kids two goals. a ball and the inspiration to help them restart their lives. >> when you go to the street, you look at the kids, you see with your eyes the way they are living. in haiti, we need love. those kids, they are living in the ghetto. they are living a very, very difficult life. i was doing business, and i was doing very well. but i started to have pain, bone pain. i went to the doctor. he asked me to wait, and after a short while, he told me, you cannot live because you have cancer. at this time, the money, all the things that you have, it's nothing. and that what makes me do what i am doing right now. i said, i love soccer. i'm going to do something for the kids. the most important, it's the love you are giving and the love they are giving to each other. [ speaking foreign language ] >> i try to teach them what life is all about. i think that with soccer, you have the discipline. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the kids are really happy. we are going to the soccer field, and it's a lot of joy. i have a dream for all the kids, whatever they are going to become. the dream is that the kid can accomplish themselves in their life. it's like i'm a father for them. and they believe in me. they feel secure. whenever they come to the soccer, they're coming to paradise. the kids are so happy, you know. i make people happy. for four years, i have been the happiest man in the world. >> it is my honor to present cnn hero, patrice millet. >> thank you. i love my kids. they still need so much help, and that's why i have so much -- i have such big plans for them. i want to buy them a field. i want to give them a school where they can paint, learn music, study, and grow up to make haiti great again. they are my inspiration. and i hope they inspire you, too. thank you. god bless you. next, ice cube honors a warrior against gang violence. later, we announce the 2011 cnn hero of the year. subaru is proud to sponsor "cnn heroes: an all-star tribute." highlighting extraordinary heroes with the drive to give back to the world. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. welcome back to the fifth anniversary of "cnn heroes." to join in the conversation about tonight's show follow us on facebook, at twitter. use the hashtag in the corner here, appearing periodically. i can't see it. i've been told it's there. now back to our honorees. it's estimated there are 20,000 gangs in america with more than 1 million members. in some gang-infested neighborhoods, people know better than to open their doors to a stranger. well, our next hero not only opened her door, she welcomed some of those troubled young people into her home and built a safe haven away from the bloodshed. to invite us into her world, please welcome actor, rapper, producer and philanthropist, ice cube. >> there's a force in the city of chicago. she moves through her beloved roseland neighborhood in search of young people who've gone down the wrong path. when she finds them, she takes them by the hand, and with the roar of a lioness, she says, "i will not give up on you." diane latiker is the mother of 8, grandmother of 13, and the pride keeper of kids off the block. she turns lives around, and i know that's hard to do. she offers gang members, troubled kids, and good ones, too, a safe place to go. they have it in her living room and the community center next door she bought for them where they can go and be safe, study and make music. there is a forceful good in the city of chicago. you can hear it in the voices of every kid who's seen miss diane, and she's taken their hand, and they're alive because of that today. for every one of those 1,500 kids, today was a good day. >> what's roseland like? a war zone. baghdad. i don't understand what makes you all think there's no hope out there beyond the gun. that worries me. y'all got four occupations. basketball, football, singing and rapping, and drug dealing. my name is diane latiker. i am a founding president of kids off the block. just how the sun rises every day, it's like a guarantee you're going to hear gunshots. like this block here, this is basically one gang. and then my block, which is this block, it's another gang. one of our members, he was shot here. he was shot at 30 times. when that happened and i thought that he was gone, i said that was it. i was giving up. and he survived. he still has five bullets in him, though. he came in and sat down in my living room, and then he said, miss diane, if this door wasn't open, i don't know where i'd be. i'd probably be dead or in jail. and right then, i changed my mind. the memorial is a tribute to young people killed by violence. from 24 years down. but those stones over there, they don't say whether you're a man or not, do they? what makes you a man? they don't have a clue. because they haven't had a chance to be a kid. >> before i met miss diane, i was doing a lot of things. >> i was feeling like kill or be killed at the time. >> how easy to pick up a gun as easy to pick up a book. >> they grew up with uncles and fathers selling drugs. and now guess what? they're in the same thing. >> when you're around violence, around people that sell drugs, you get scared. like, i want to go out but i can't. where can i go? >> she opened up her home, her living room, to kids she didn't even know. kids who were labeled as failures. >> a woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many kids she didn't know what to do. >> one day i came in the house, there was like 50 kids in the house. >> all because i said a few words. all because i took five minutes. >> we talked, and she hugged me. i'm like, man, miss d. i really do want to change. you know what i'm saying? like, i want to get out off these streets. ♪ i'm trying to change i'm trying to change ♪ ♪ but the streets are calling me it's the same old thing ♪ >> tito is a 26-year-old, needs help. he's in a gang. and wants to change his life. >> everybody want to be the dope king or they want to ride in the chevy, the big wheels. i got to eat, miss diane. of course you do. i'm not knocking that. but, wow, imagine if you could eat and you could sleep at night. the one thing i said about you, tito, you're a leader. there's just so much negative stuff out here, you know. but if you was in your element to lead right, i believe you'd lead right. straight up. >> you're right, miss diane. >> i wish i could build an army of young people. and then see the power. if our young people knew how much power they had, they would be unstoppable. ♪ everything is okay everything is all right everything is all right ♪ ♪ everything is okay hey hey >> please join me in honoring cnn hero, diane latiker. >> i go to bed at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning. i get up at 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning. i'm always excited. always know something good's going to happen today. because some kid is going to say, thank you, miss diane. some parent won't have to bury their child. all because of what we have done. i know some father would be proud because their kid changed their mind and decided to live a life of positivity. please don't give up on our young people. please care about them. please love them. i needed it, and so did you. thank you. next on "cnn heroes," mary-louise parker, chris colfer, and later a musical performance by miley cyrus. whoa. how do you top great vacations? 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[ laughs ] [ female announcer ] just one cap of tide plus bleach gives you more cleaning power than six caps of the bargain brand. visit facebook.com/tide to learn about special offers. that's my tide. what's yours? you're watching "cnn heroes: an all-star tribute." proudly sponsored by tide loads of hope. we'll be right back. how great was diane latiker? she was just incredible. i mean -- [ applause ] >> there's a lot of tissues being given out backstage right now. welcome back to the program. the hiv/aids epidemic continues to ravage many parts of the world. in particular, africa. there are many ways to fight hiv/aids. education, prevention, medicine. our next hero has joined that battle, and she's fighting in a very unique and very innovative way. to tell us her story is a proud supporter of hope north, a refuge for escaped child soldiers in uganda, mary-louise parker. >> good evening. there is a universal desire in all of us to connect. perhaps it's for survival, or maybe a little divine inspiration. but i'm glad it's there, just waiting for us to listen to its direction. sometimes it is simple, and other times it sends us on a journey. our next hero, amy stokes, traveled to africa to adopt her beloved son. but for her, that was just the beginning. because of hiv/aids, she knew there were millions of children growing up alone, without guidance, care and love. so she found a way for them to connect with someone who cares, someone to say things like, "what a beautiful drawing." "you did great in school." "i'm so proud of you." because every child ought to know the answer to this universal question. do i matter? a hero knows to always say, yes. >> if you're growing up in a community where a significant portion of the young adult population hasn't lived past 30, then it's very easy to believe that you won't either. the young adult population in subsaharan africa, the parents who teach their children how to be good community leaders, that part of the population is what has been most hit by hiv/aids. children are basically growing up alone and learning from each other. infinite family is based on the relationships that transform the lives of children and young adults by teaching them life skills. once or twice a week, the children come to the computer labs. they turn on the computer. they turn on the web cam. and they see their mentor. >> hi! >> hi, lisa. >> the minute i see surprise, it is like fuel for the soul. >> can i ask you a question? >> this little guy is having to deal with such grown-up issues. the drugs that he sees and that he encounters. and the peer pressure. so then he asks me those questions. >> as soon as someone half a world away believes that you have a future, all of a sudden we see the self-confidence start to develop, focus on schoolwork improve. >> and three times nine? >> one of the things we saw last year was that the national average on passing the metric exam was about 67%. and amongst the infinite family net buddies that took the exam, it was a 90% pass rate. >> how are you? >> i am well. everyone at infinite family is extremely proud of ayayna. he was the head of a child-headed household. within six months of becoming involved with infinite family, he was in the front of the class and then went on to finish his i.t. certification. now we're extremely proud of ayana because he's working at first national bank. >> i didn't know anything about computers. but i wanted to do i.t. so it was amazing to touch a computer for the first time. >> when we open our next lab, will you build us the computers? >> i would love to. >> that's cool. anybody can be a mentor. to a child with very few adult role models in their life, each of us is a treasure-trove of information. >> this is something that anybody could do, no matter their level of experience with children, their experience with technology. >> the net buddies at infinite family are all working so hard to create a different future for themselves. it's all the inspiration i need to keep working to help them. >> it is my honor to present cnn hero, amy stokes. >> together, with your talents and determination, we can help prepare these children to rebuild their communities. mentoring makes the difference between a child that survives and one that thrives. support infinite family's work and help us create a world where no children grow up alone. thank you. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome chris colfer. >> when you're near death, it's hard to think about anything but your own mortality. when you survive that kind of illness, it takes extraordinary grace to then put others first. this is compassion in its purest form. a quality all young wonders share. especially michael caraway. he got so sick he almost died. but that was just the beginning of his remarkable story. >> when michael was born, he was normal. he was active. he ran around. he played football. he was just like any other child. and one day he just got sick. >> in 2008, when i was 11 years old, i was diagnosed with liver failure. >> they told me straight up, if he does not get a liver transplant, he will die. >> it was halloween. and the doctor came in, dr. rosenthal, liver specialist. >> he walked in and he said, i hate to sound like the grim reaper, but it's raining outside and it's halloween. he says, i've been doing this for 30 years. somebody's going to die. your son is going to get a liver. >> so this guy right here, his name was johnny hernandez. he was 18 years old. and he was killed on a motorcycle accident. this family gave something to me that i needed, which was a liver from their son. so i really couldn't pay them back. so i feed the homeless in honor of their son, johnny hernandez. >> it was mikey's idea to feed the homeless and his vision. >> december 25th, 2008, we packed up 25 meals, put them in my mom's truck and drove around. ever since then we've launched mikey's meals. we've fed over 4,000 people in the city of oakland. and every time we feed, we promote donor awareness. >> we sign up at least 30 people to become organ donors at each event we have. >> it's really important to help your community. because without you, there is no community. >> mikey is truly a young wonder. next, jerry seinfeld honors a chef who feeds the soul. still to come, j.r. martinez steps out on stage. progresso. it fits