this special from cnn will be hosted by anderson cooper. you won't want to miss it. that's coming up next. for all of us here in washington and indeed around the country and around the world, thanks very much for joining us. from the american museum of natural history in new york city, this is "cnn heroes: an all-star tribute." ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host for the evening, anderson cooper. >> thank you very much. welcome to ": heroes: an all-star tribute." tonight we're gathered in this amazing room, the milsteen hall of ocean life, museum of natural history in new york to celebrate extraordinary men and women who

highlight the best of what humanity has to offer. tonight you're going to meet heroes who remind us that compassion and kindness are still very present, very much alive in the world today. among other things, they are bringing health care to the homeless, supporting our combat veterans, aiding single parents with cancer, caring for kids in the poorest parts of the world, even rescuing sloths in south america. i'm going to just tell you right now i'm obsessed with sloths. they sleep 18 hours a day. they poop once a week. it's the life i aspire to. it's wonderful that so many big names could donate their time to be part of this evening honoring our heroes' work. my great friend, kelly ripa is here with our husband, mark consuel consuelos. this is kelly's third time presenting at "heroes." we appreciate both of them being here. another great friend of mine is here who harasses me all year long but never so much as on new year's eve. she sends me completely inappropriate text messages, dirty, dirty pictures of

herself. kathy griffin is here. [ applause ] i'm watching you, kathy. i am watching you. all right? now, throughout the night as you meet our cnn heroes, i hope you'll be inspired to get involved with their causes. go to cnnhe rows.com at any time to see ways to interact and donate during the show. while you're watching, also get involved on facebook, on twitter. visit our account on instagram to see exclusive behind the scenes pictures from tonight's event. cnn has given each of our top ten honorees $10,000 so they can continue to do their important work and, of course, later tonight one of the honor are r will be named 2015 cnn hero of the year and receive an additional $100,000. so let's begin tonight -- [ applause ] let's meet our first krb cnn hero. any given night, nearly half a million people are homeless in the united states of america. many are experiencing a temporary crisis. they're living in a shelter. but 15% of them are chronically

homeless. they live with serious medical conditions. heart disease, diabetes, mental illness. our next hero seeks these men and women out to bring them care in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. to tell us about his remarkable work is a proud supporter of direct relief which provides essential medical resources for people in need and during disasters, as well as support of the trevor project, he's the star of the upcoming film "snowden," please welcome pittsburgh native, zachary quinto. ♪ [ applause ] >> do i matter? when it's 10 degrees outside and the wind's blowing and all you've got is a cardboard box in an alley, you're thinking, do i matter at all to the people passing me by? every day in my hometown, dr. jim withers makes sure they know the answer. 23 years ago, he rubbed dirt in

his hair, muddled up his clothes to go out to get to know the runaway teenagers, pregnant mothers, elderly men, and the veterans struggling on the streets of pittsburgh. he started operation safety net to bring them medical care through street grounds. now he has a drop-in center, moes mobile van and clinic, too, and reached 10,000 individuals and helped 1,200 of them transition into housing. when he's treating someone, he embraces them, looks them in the eye, says their name, and tells them in no uncertain terms, yes, you matter. >> did they put staples in or stitches? >> yeah, they put staples? >> okay. let me take a look. any bad headaches or anything? >> yeah, i've got some pretty bad headaches. >> just kind of look off toward the bumper of that car. i've been walking the streets of pittsburgh for 23 years. can you make a fist? does that hurt? the truth is, and it's a

difficult truth, is that any one of us actually could end up there. we're lucky. we try to keep our team down to four people. it can be a challenge to keep with where the camps are. how many people are living in places that you'd never want to live. >> safety net. we got some food, some water. got dr. withers with me today. >> we always try to check in with how they're doing medically, do they have their medicines? so these are the 100 milligrams. we record what we've done in a confidential record. all right. good to see you. it's just really like you would do in an office. any chest pain or -- >> no. the only complaint, it's, like, too tight. >> the skin's too tight?

>> yeah. too tight. >> build trust with folks whose trust has been broken. have you ever tried to hurt yourself before? >> i mean, it's real hard for me. >> you're not alone. we'll be there for you. takes time, sincerity, flexibility and a sense of humor. you look good. you aged better than i did. we try to have a good selection that will cover all the different kinds of illnesses. we have bags that are for pain relief, antibiotics, blood pressure pills. i kind of had to make this up when i started. the streets taught us what it needed. anybody home? it's just a very ongoing presence that tries to improve how healthy they are. what hurts the most? >> this knee is so swollen. >> it's not hard to go out to see them. it's hard going home at night and knowing there are people still sleeping out there. once you know they're there, it

haunts you. >> you've done so much for me. >> maybe society doesn't have time to get to know the people and see the value and strength in people. all i would really ask is we don't judge people that we don't know. don't judge people unless you walked in their shoes. i think the take-home message is that you matter as a human being. good and steady. you got a good heart. and people need to hear that and feel that, and once they do, then i think their healing begins. all right. i'll see you next time. >> okay. >> love you. >> love you, too. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in honoring cnn hero, dr. jim withers. [ applause ] ♪

>> to be honest, i didn't go under bridges to save homeless people. i went there to save myself. and, perhaps, my profession. our society is losing its humanity, and only by reaching out for the people that have been tossed aside can we regain it. the real heroes are our brothers and sisters who suffer while we stand by and judge them from a distance. go to the people. work with them to find solutions. this is what the global street medicine movement is doing. thank you, and god bless. ♪ [ applause ] coming up next, victoria

justice, and later, neil patrick harris. "cnn heroes: an all-star tribute" is proud by sponsored by subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. we call it share the love. during our share the love event, get a new subaru, and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

hey, welcome back to ": heroes." throughout tonight's broadcast we hope you go to cnnheroes.com to learn about our honorees. doe fanate if you can to help t do their life-changing work. connect on facebook, twitter, instagram where there are behind the scenes photos. take a look at one of the photos that was just posted. there is actually a sloth playing piano backstage. i don't know why. back to our heroes. according to the world health organization, in nepal, more than a quarter of the country lives in poverty. and in its rural areas, that number rises to nearly half. that life is especially hard on children, many are orphans. they receive really no formal education. and many spend their days hammering rocks into pebbles to earn money. here to tell us about a hero

who's building these kids a better life is a champion for the girl up campaign which creates opportunities for girls in the developing world. she's also the star of the new film "naomi and eli's no kiss list." victoria justice. ♪ [ applause ] >> in 2006, a high school graduate from new jersey didn't know what she wanted to do, so she took a year off to travel the world. maggie doyne helped a team rebuild a seawall in fiji, spent time at a buddhist monastery. her work with refugees in india brought her to nepal and a riverbed where she met a little girl in a tattered orange dress whoaid a mple greeting of hello. maggie decided to support that little girl so she could go to school and have a better life. maggie stayed in nepal and knew she had to do more. she called her parents and asked

for the $5,000 she saved from baby sitting to start the kopila children's home. maggie also built a town in school where 350 kids can learn. all this good is happening because maggie had the courage to go out into the world and find her calling. >> there is something naive about it, i think. like, i can take on the world. good morning. wake up time. everything that happened to me happened like that. time for breakfast. i am now 28 years old, and the most proud mother. time to get up for school, sweetie. for we're a family of almost 50 kids. we're home. yay. we started with just one child then it grew to five.

then the cap became 30 and that kid comes in you just can't say no to. it's life or death. good morning, ravi. ravi is the youngest in the family. he came to us at just about 4 pounds. he was like a sack of bones really. he had to be resuscitated. he went on a ventilator. he is just a miracle baby. when you walk in the front gate, you don't see what the kids have been through in their past. you see healthy, laughing, thriving kids. we wake up in the morning and go off to school and then come home and do homework and eat our meals together and everybody goes to bed at night. >> good night. >> i love you. i can't imagine our family without a single one of them. as the home grew, the project

really grew. i asked the community what they thought would really change and impact the region, and everybody agreed on the same thing. our children need quality education. we have created one of the top-performing schools in the entire region. you got it. our kids are the poorest of the poor. the ones who aren't supposed to make it. after a couple years here, they're just so healthy. it's amazing to watch that transformation. we call it the kopila effect. the first girl that i enrolled into school, she was a rock breaker to make the income to support her family. they were just children. they were doing that all day, every day. she now is doing amazing. her family's running a little shop. her brother's now in our school. her mom is working at our women's center.

i said to myself, one day i'm going to walk across this dry riverbed and there's not going to be a single kid breaking stones. today there's not a single kid because they're all in our school. ♪ most women my age definitely have a different reality, but i have everything i need and all the love in the world. ♪ we love each other like a sister or brother because we are one family ♪ [ applause ] >> please join me in honoring cnn hero, maggie doyne. ♪ [ applause ]

>> i am so incredibly honored to accept this award on behalf of all my little heroes in nepal at kopila. i draw all of my inspiration from them. there's no time to waste. if you are educated and free and empowered and safe, you have to use your strength, your power, and your gifts to help the rest of our human family. i'm also so grateful to my co-founder, tope, who's with me here tonight, and to the blinknow family and to everyone who's had the faith in our vision. we cannot lose sight of the task at hand, change the world in the blink of an eye. thank you. [ applause ] ♪ >> live from nepal. we love you, mom. we love you, mom. coming up on "cnn heroes," neil patrick harris.

taylor schilling. justin. and sharon stone. if you want to learn more about our heroes, go to cnnheroes.com. platinum-based chemotherapy, it's not every day something this big comes along. a chance to live longer with... opdivo, nivolumab. opdivo is the first and only immunotherapy fda approved based on a clinical trial demonstrating longer life... ...for these patients. in fact, opdivo significantly increased the chance of living longer versus chemotherapy. opdivo is different. it works with your immune system. opdivo can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in your body and affect how they work. this may happen any time during or after treatment has ended, and may become serious and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you experience new or worsening cough; chest pain; shortness of breath;

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♪

welcome back to "cnn heroes." you may not know this, but the united states leads the industrialized world with a number of homeless women and children. many of the women are victims of domestic violence, some are just getting out of prison. our next hero focuses her work on rebuilding these women piece lives in california in san bernardino county. to share her extraordinary story, supporter of the representation project that ends stereotypes and stop social injustices. emmy nominated star of "orange is the new black." i'm a huge fan. taylor schilling. ♪ [ applause ] >> when we see a homeless woman and she's high, covered head to toe in filth, or she's crying, northeast of t most of the time we look away, cross the street, but kim carter doesn't because she survived that journey to the depths of

despair. at 5 years old, she was given her first drink. at 17, she took a hit of crack cocaine and was hooked. for more than a decade, she lived in alleys and abandoned buildings, had a daughter and gave her up, and cycled in and out of prison. during her last time inside, kim enrolled in a rehabilitation program and worked for her second chance. she rebuilt her life with a new home, a new job, and she reconnected with her daughter. and in 2002, she wanted to help other women do the same and started the time for change foundation. kim and her staff have provided counseling, childcare, and job training to hundreds of women and children as they transition into permanent housing. kim and the women and children she's helped are why we have to stop crossing that street. we must stand with them, get to know them, so they can find their second chance and realize the potential that resides in their hearts, too.

>> this is my old housing unit right here. when i was deepest in my addiction, i didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. i never thought about life. i never thought about saving myself. but after i became a mother, it became haunting. so this is it. this is my bunk right here. i spent years laying right here. this is the reality of what my life had came to this 2 x 4. you can almost touch the wall. that's how tight it is in here. sometimes when i went to jail, it was a blessing because i was able to lay down and i was able to sleep and i would be let out again back out into homelessness. good morning, family. good afternoon, family. how you all doing today? so my name is kim carter.

and i say it so you can know that i am you and you are me. my last time in prison, sitting there thinking, what happened? there wasn't one thing that happened. a lot of things happened. don't give up on yourself because you still worthy. . what option does a woman with nothing have to start over? >> i've been homeless almost six months. >> we meet women where they are. the bus station, at the hospital, coming out of jail. we'll pick them up and put them into an environment where they can heal. >> it's a frightening experience. it's frightening. >> my goal is for them to leave fully self-sufficient and to get their children back. >> he was just very abusive.

when i left, i left with nothing. i got my two girls and left. we were sleeping in the car, in motels. anywhere where i could put their little heads down to sleep. i worked so hard to not loose them. i haven't had my girls for a year and two months now. ♪ it's been a long, long journey. fighting for them. trying to get them back. thank you, miss carter. thank you. i can't make up for the time that i lost with my daughter, but i can help make sure another mother doesn't lose time with theirs. i'm here. i'm not on the margins of

society no more. i'm part of society. i'm a change agent. who knew? [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in honoring cnn hero, kim carter. ♪ [ applause ] >> if my life's work has to be measured, and my determination, let it reflect that i do what i do because i love my daughter. i love my daughter. and i live with this pain

because i wasn't able to be there for her when she was young. see, there was no time for change foundation there for me. but see, my god, he lost me to make sure that no other mother has to go separated from her kids because she might need some help or because she might be homeless. that's what my god allows. where that pain is in me, that's where i find my passion and purpose. that's where i find my dedication at. i get to help women reclaim their children, become those nurturing parents they always wanted to be. the work that i do, this is like the air that i breathe, so i can't stop. thank you. ♪ [ applause ]

throughout the night while you're watching, keblgs on facebook, on twitter, on instagr instagram. we continue our tradition of honoring young people also making a difference. at cnn, we call these inspiring kids young wonders. ours first young wondering is tackling an important issue. in the united states one in six kids between the ages of 3 and 17 live with a developmental disability. something like autism or down syndrome. for those who want to play on a sports team, their choices are limited. our first young wonder loves to play ice hockey and wanted to create something specifically designed for these kids. here to share his story is a canadian which means naturally he's been an ice hockey fan since birth, which frankly was not that young ago. he's the star of the powerful new film, "room," please welcome jacob tremblay. ♪

>> let me tell you why he is a great person. he knows every child is amazing and some need a little bit of extra help. when i say some kids can't be on a hockey team just because of who they are, he created one for them. they get to skate every weekend and make friends. the san diego chill, they're my favorite team. you know why? because he's more than just the coach, he's a cool kid with a heart of gold. >> i love ice hockey. i love the feel of when i'm skating. the wind on my face. and the puck on your stick. it's such a rush. i wanted to help kids with developmental disabilities play the sport i love and cherish so much. my challenge for you guys is to skate across the ice. no coach's help. >> yes. >> they were working on stopping. every saturday we want our players to see their friends and

their teammates. now you can go. we want them to feel joy coming into the rink. way to go. way to go. you see how much faster you are when you use your left foot? the majority of our coaches are in their teen years. >> you can do it. there you go. >> players know that while they're out there and their coach is there, they will be safe. that is huge for them. >> casey bonds really well when she has the boy coaches. she's the typical teenager. i think for her, she just really wants to do well for them. >> so proud of you. >> good job. >> just a little action. a little time out of your day can make such a big difference in someone's life. i can't think of a better use of my time. when i see a player smile, it makes it all worth it.

[ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a big hand for our young wonder, isaiah granet. [ applause ] ♪ coming up next, common. and later, kelly ripa. "cnn heroes: an all-star tribute" is sponsored by humana. helping to close the gap between you and the care you deserve.

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welcome back to "cnn heroes." we are very grateful for everyone who donated their time to be here and help us on our heroes. once again, we tried to get my friend, wolf blitzer, to come, but of course he's preparing for an upcoming debate. he's very busy down in washington, d.c. take a look at what he's doing right now. ♪ >> he loves drake's "hot line bling." i don't know what it is about wolf. tonight there are a lot of different ways for you to interact. i want to show you right now, my background is a sloth. don't judgem me, kathy griffin. you can go to our facebook page over here. just want to show you. go to our facebook page right now, talk about what's going on. you can also go to our twitter page, join the conversation, and

you can even join us on insta gram and see behind the scenes picture pictures. when you learn about our heroes i hope they'll inspire you to get involved in one way or another. in the struggling neighborhoods of chicago, death, shootings and violent crimes are often daily occurrences. those victims are overwhelming the emergency rooms and the operating tables. that means many are on medicaid, many of the uninsured, the underinsured, they see their health care delay. here to tell us about a doctor who's been serving chicago's under underserved for 20 years. he's a proud supporter of the campaign to end violence in chicago. academy and award winning artist, common. >> treat first. that's the mantra of the bigg t biggest, boldest, bad ass doctor

in my hometown of chicago. dr. daniel ivankovich is an orthopedic surgeon who has seen it all. broken bones. twisted knees. bad backs. dislocated joints. all treatable conditions, but for those living in the roughest neighborhoods, treatment isn't easy. they don't have a lot of money. they're on medicaid and they don't have insurance. so their told to wait. month months, sometimes years would go by while they lived in pain and their conditions worsened. dr. dan said, enough is enough. and co-founded the onepatient global health initiative which runs three clinics and performs more than 600 surgeries a year. many of them for free. [ applause ]

he drives around with his skull rings, leather cowboy hat, and tells the people that he sees them, hears them, and wants them to get well. treat first. that's the doctor dan way. >> i've been serving in these communities for the past 20 years. jackson and laramie is where one of our clinics used to be. we had to leave because over the course of a year, we witnessed four murders. it was like we're in the middle of a war zone. can i get the smothered chicken? this restaurant i've been coming to for years. it's the best food in the city. thank you very much. withdr >> you guys enjoy your meal.

have a beautiful day. >> awesome. we're on the west side and the west side is a rough side. living in these communities with the threat of violence constantly in the air truly affects how people live their lives. during my training the gang violence was never ending. serving a large population of gang bangers, the problem is you're constantly fixing the same people over and over again. you're basically putting a band-aid on a major problem. many patients with knee arthritis, with bad backs, they kept getting put to the back of the line. how is it that the people that are doing bad things are getting the priority, and the people that are just good people that happen to be poor are are being ignored by the system? i just said, you know what, i need to take care of these people. have a seat. how are your knees feeling? >> they're feeling better. >> we want to try and bayou more time for your knees, so the knee

replacement is going to be sort of the lasthing when everything else fails. >> you will surely find a way when you start cutting, chop, chop. that's one thing i like coming to you because you are more entwined with us. >> see you in a couple weeks. >> hope so. >> the goal is going to be to have these legs be parallel. we'll be good to go. ricardo garcia. to the left. >> ten years ago i was in a h hit-and-r hit-and-run. broke my back. broke my hip. shattered both legs. i was left for dead. i did not have health insurance an the time. i was told i had to leave the hospital. my legs are still broken mind knees are still broken. >> we call it treat them and street them. nobody is offering them a definitive solution to their problem. left knee's been great? >> left knee is awesome. >> even if i got to do a crazy incision, i would try to do one.

>> i had about eight doctors turn me away. he fixed me when no one else would or could. he looks at me as a person, not as a number. >> i don't see barriers. i see solutions. from the day i started, i saw that not all people were treated equally. >> there you go. >> people want to live and they want to love. they want to laugh. my goal for my patients is to just give them their life back. i want to be the battering ram to try and level the playing field. [ applause ] >> as you can see, this guy is very cool. please join me in honoring cnn hero, dr. daniel ivankovich. ♪ [ applause ]

>> thanks. thank you. you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one. in the world that i see, everybody matters, and nobody is invisible. especially poor people. people of color and people with disabilities. i serve as one example that everyone can care enough to fight for what is right. i hope that my efforts inspire others to follow. it's an honor to be recognized as a cnn hero. to my family and kids, for supporting me and putting up with those 120-hour workweeks and to my dear wife, karla. she transforms lives with me on chicago's front lines every day. i wouldn't be here tonight without you. peace and love. [ applause ]

>> thank you, dr. dan! >> for helping to fix my knee. >> for bringing my leg back to life. >> and giving us hope. >> yay. coming up, justin theroux, and later kathy griffin honors a hero who's helping our combat veterans. "cnn heroes: an all-star tribute" is sponsored by microsoft. empowering us all. a new screen for new perspectives. a new pen for new masterpieces. new speakers for a new sound. we reinvented the surface pro. so you can reinvent everything else.

welcome back. while you're watching at home if you'd like to help out one of more-our top ten heroes, your donations will make a real difference. please do it now at c cnnheroes.com. the dakota sioux nations stretches across acres of land including the sheyenne river reservation. 10,000 native americans work to keep their community together fighting against poverty, unemployment, addiction, suicide. to tell us how our next hero is helping, here's justin theroux. [ applause ]

>> we all have that promise we made years ago that's gone unfulfilled. we think it's too late to do anything about it, but rochelle ripley shows us it is never too late to keep your word. 45 years, that's how long it took rochelle to honor her promise to her grandmother. when she was young and visiting her grandmother's farm in indiana, she told rochelle stories about her native american heritage and asked rochelle one day go and help the lakota people. it wasn't until rochelle's own granddaughter was born that she finally made that journey. what she saw was this. the spirit of the people was inspiring, but the conditions were deplorable. and in 1998, she started hawkwing. to date, she and her volunteers have delivered more than $9 million in goods and services. what used to be an unfulfilled promise is now a labor of love. and her incredible work has

earned her the beautiful, powerful, and fitting name. >> we call her, means you're helping, people, women. she's helping us a lot on this reservation. she never gave up on us. >> part of the reservation we're going to right now is the poorest part of the reservation. it's going to be a dirt road all the way in to cherry creek. the lakota reservations are very isolated. it's a very large landmass with about 10,000 people living on the reservation. the irony on sheyenne river is it's one of the most beautiful places you can come to. the sunsets are extraordinary. the people are loving and wonderful. that is contrasted with this

immense poverty. you have extremely high rates of suicide, addictions. the spirit of the people is here. it's alive. but they struggle with the conditions tremendously. >> thank you. >> health issues are another huge challenge. >> you got 11 people in your house. i'm going to give you a couple of these. diabetes, cancer, heart disease are all major issues. so have them back here at noon. we're going to feed you. we have all kinds of stuff. food often is in very short supply. it's moat nutritiously insufficient and inadequate in quantity. and you have homelessness on top of houses that no one should actually be living we're going to be helping a family where the mom has unfortunately gone blind. >> and we're almost to the front

door. >> at first, i was traumatized, because i was blind. all my electricity outlets and stuff were no good. and it could have been a house fire. >> they want to get the floor down tonight so that's secure for you. we're doing as much as we can to make her house safe for her. >> it's even more newer in here. i can't see it, but i feel it. >> we really do work collaboratively with the tribe everywhere we go. >> i know she has a lot of respect. she comes to the leadership and asks what are the needs of our people. she's a very responsive person. >> how are you? >> when i come here, there's a connectedness to the people and to the land. they say when i get here, welcome home. the sky is i mmense, the stars are magnificent.

we're all humans. we're all children of this earth, and we need to work together so that everyone has a chance at having a decent life. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in honoring cnn hero, rachelle ripley. [ applause ] ♪ >> thank you. the vastness of the great plains of america makes you feel like you can touch the sky. but beneath that sky, the suffering is equally vast. here live the children america has left behind. please join hawk wing to bring help and hope to the children, parents, veterans and elders of

the cheyenne river lakota sioux tribe. great thanks to cnn heroes and each of you. for my grandma and my son in spirit and my daughter who's here with me tonight, you are my heart. [ applause ] ♪ next, neil patrick harris, and later tonight we'll reveal the 2015 cnn hero of the year. cnn heroes, an all-star tribute is sponsored by geico. proudly highlighting those people who are impacting our world every day.

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[ applause ] ♪ >> how ya doin'?

this is basically a dream come true tor me. this is a sloth. her name is snooki, i'm not kidding. i wish i made that up, but i didn't. she's an animal ambassador, and we're very grateful that the leo conservation center sent her to us. she likes you to blow in her face, but frankly, who doesn't? [ laughter ] >> in surnam, 90% of the country is filled with forest. the most of any country in the world. but as urban areas grow, the habitat of sloths is being threatened. to tell us how the next hero is working to protect sloths, and so many causes, my friend neil

patrick harris. ♪ [ applause ] >> thanks, anderson. how refreshing to observe a snooki with no spray tan. we all love animals, and it is heartbreaking when someone has to search for a lost dog. one day monique poole looked ever where f everywhere for hers. when she called the local animal shelter, they didn't have her dog, but they had a sloth. and even though she didn't know how to care for a sloth, it was impossible for her to turn away an animal in need. soon after, she received calls about more sloths. soon her house was packed with these adorable animals. it was slothfied. so she started the green fund to help these amazing animals and

other creatures of the rainforest and its waterways. this is the only earth we have. our environmentalists and accidental sloth experts can't be its only protectors. we must join them to protect it so that our beloved animal the like the sloths can be where they're supposed to be, living in the canopies of our trees. ♪ >> sloths are very cute because they're very slow animals. they like to hang out. they look really relaxed, like a little buddha who's content. they have always a smile on their face. but sloths are facing loss of habitat in the urban area. when sloths are in trouble, all the telephone calls come to us.

this is chewy. >> all animals we rescue we bring them back to my house, which is like a temporary shelter. it's ridiculous the way he's lying. my life with sloths. my biggest rescue effort was in 2012 when we heard about this plot of land that was going to be cleared. we called this sloth ageddon. there were sloths all over this place. in the kitchen, in the cages. i was slothfied. i still have a lot of sloths. whenever you walk into a room, you will see a sloth hanging here or sitting there. what does a sloth do all day? it sleeps.

it grooms. it eats. it sleeps a little bit more. he's so relaxed. it's just amazing. he came in with his nails cut. that's why he has to stay with us. we make sure that our sloths feel really well cared for here. it's like a meditative moment. all animals who come to us, we check their health and move them on to life in the forest. this is mango, and we're going to release her now. and she's very excited about that. the best part of a rescue is when we release an animal. you are going to the forest. sloths are not pets. wild animals belong in the wild. mango, find yoursel