NEW YORK, NY – (December 8, 2024) – Tonight at the 18th Annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, Stephen Knight was named the 2024 CNN Hero of the Year. Hosted by CNN Anchors Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates, the global broadcast honored everyday people who are making extraordinary contributions to help improve the lives of others.
Knight’s organization Dogs Matter provides foster care for pets whose owners are seeking substance abuse treatment, covering animal expenses for the foster family and providing post-release services to help human participants succeed with their sobriety.
Each Top 5 CNN Hero will be awarded $10,000 and Knight, as the CNN Hero of the Year, will receive $100,000 to continue his life-changing work. Accepting the award, Knight said “This means everything. I represent so much here. I represent the recovery community. The dog rescue community…This is going to be able to take us to the next level.”
In its third year of collaboration with CNN Heroes, the Elevate Prize Foundation, a global nonprofit on a mission to Make Good Famous, committed to bringing visibility to the work of changemakers and inspiring the world, is awarding $50,000 to Knight as the CNN Hero of the Year. All five honorees will also receive from the Elevate Prize Foundation organizational capacity-building and tailored resources to maximize their impact and will attend the foundation’s annual Make Good Famous Summit in May of 2025.
Michael J. Fox was honored with the second annual CNN Heroes Legacy Award for his lifetime commitment to bringing hope to those diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Accepting the award, Fox said “I am humbled, I am grateful, and with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. We can get this done.”
Notable guests joined CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute including Academy Award® nominee Bradley Cooper, Emmy® nominee Pedro Pascal, global media leader Oprah Winfrey, ballet dancer Misty Copeland, Emmy® nominee and star of NBC’s Brilliant Minds Zachary Quinto, Daytime Emmy® winner Kelly Ripa and award-winning actress and playwright Danai Gurira.
CNN has partnered with GoFundMe to enable donations to this year’s Top 5 honorees. Supporters can make online donations to the Top 5 CNN Heroes’ nonprofit organizations directly from CNNHeroes.com. The Elevate Prize Foundation is matching donations to all of the 2024 Top 5 CNN Heroes up to $50,000 per hero through January 5, 2025.
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