CNN Heroes

His nonprofit provides life-changing custom medical devices to low-income families built by employees who also have disabilities.

And to vote who should be the CNN Hero of the Year, go to cnn.com slash heroes, where you get as many as 10 votes a day for the hero who inspires you the most.

And on Saturday, December 5th, I'll be hosting alongside Laura Coates, CNN Heroes and All-Star Tribute.

You can find out who is named the CNN Hero of the Year based on your votes.

That's it.

The Source with Kalen Collins starts now.

And I make sure I'm pronouncing that sheer.

And he is the founder and CEO of Comfort Cases, foster care advocate, CNN hero, author, national speaker, and the most important, a father.

Rob Sheergan is the founder and CEO of Comfort Cases, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to restoring dignity to youth entering foster care.

His mission is rooted in lived experience.

In 2013, after realizing that children entering his own home through foster care were still arriving with their belongings in a trash bag decades later, Rob and his family launched the Comfort Cases Foundation, What began as a single packing party has grown into a national movement.

Today, the organization has distributed more than 320,000 comfort cases, backpacks, and comfort extra large duffel bags to youth in foster care across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.

Rob's work has earned national recognition, including being named a CNN hero.

He has appeared on national media outlets, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Today, The View, and CBS Evening News, Eye on America.

And it's interesting.

That book actually came out the same week that I was a CNN hero and it was announced that I was a hero the week that.

Barack Obama was announcing his run for presidency on CNN with that show, and that was real exciting.

So it got us a lot of attention in the nonprofit world, and it was a big week that week.

Man, it was an issue.

And I've been on, I was a CNN hero, you know, back in 2018.

And, you know, you're standing in front of a broadcast of 9 million people.

I mean, that didn't get to me near as much as that stupid American Georgia.

[upbeat music] You want to not only put food into the neighborhood, you wanna put money back into the neighborhood.

Meet a 2026 CNN hero who turned his personal struggle into a citywide mission to empower people.

And some churches are taking the idea of loving thy neighbor to a whole new level by helping put roofs over people's heads.

Plus, if your social life isn't what it used to be, you're not alone.

We're purchasing, packing, and delivering to more than 5,400 households per week.

But Dion's not just putting food on people's tables for free.

He's also creating jobs, which is why he's being honored as a CNN Hero this year.

In six years, we've never had a volunteer.

If you're just joining us, we're talking about the new documentary film In Our Nature with director and producer James Parker and co-producer Juliet Grable.

James, one of the core stories you tell is about the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year.

Tell me about him and what does his story tell us?

Yeah, so we were really fortunate to include Keelan Blackwell, who was named CNN Hero of the Year, and his wife, Hannah.

And together, they co-founded this incredible organization on the South Side of Chicago called South Side Blooms.

And it is this social enterprise that turns vacant lots in the South Side into sustainable, productive flower farms.

We are in a shortage of it.

His work has been recognized by Mike Rowe's Returning the Favor, CNN Heroes, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Good Morning America, The Today Show, People Magazine, American Ninja Warrior.

Hello.

[laughs]

She was named to the BBC 100 Women's List in 2023, and her work was featured on CNN's Call to Earth in 2025 and BBC's People Fixing the World in 2026.

She was also named among the 2026 CNN Heroes.

She is the author of Walking with Gorillas, The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet, her memoir and charter, and over 60 papers.

Hi, Dr. Gladys.

[laughs]

It's like CNN Heroes would be competing against, like, child pageants in the same category.

Yeah.

And you're like, "What's happening?"