the following is a cnn special presentation. ♪ >> all the changes happening now in the world can really feel unsettling but lots of people are harnessing the power of change. making it a force for good. >> 12 cnn anchors set out to find the changemakers, the ones smashing down barriers and lifting up society. those are their stories. these are the champions for change. ♪

welcome to champions for change. i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota. we are spotlighting those who making the world a better place. they are not famous. not making headlines. >> they are innovators and problem solvers with extraordinary ideas. let's start with kate baldwin. she cares passionately about the oceans and she met a woman trying to make seafood sustainable from boat to kitchen to plate. >> captain, how are you? may we board? >> yes, permission to board. >> thank you, sir. >> all right. >> that is what we're going to try to catch. >> i grew up fishing with my family and my dad and my mom, all through any childhood. i love seafood, i love fish.

i did not understand how close to extinction some of my favorite fish were. >> target species. >> hey! how's the season been? has it been a good one? >> regulations they have put in place has paid off. now, if you catch a 40 pounder, it has to be released. >> stronger than i expected it to be. holy smoke show. lunch. how big is the problem of overfishing? >> it's big. there are 3 billion with a "b" people on this planet who rely on fish as their main source of protein and for their livelihoods. >> what is the main reason it's a problem? >> we are catching too many fish. it's not well regulated all over the world. we look at the impacts of health risks, sea grass, coastal mangroves. they are all ecosystems that

fish, marine life and people need to surprise. >> reporter: jen has been fighting for fish for decades, not just to save them but to conserve the oceans so there is enough for all of us to share. >> the question here, how do we save -- >> it's opened my eyes to better alternatives. the idea for seafood watch came out of an exhibit. the monterey bay aquarium. we put the program together, we thought a lot about what is our goal here? to make consumers aware there is a problem, that individuals should change their purchasing habits in support of more ocean friendly seafood, so we created a little pocket guide and we put it in the cafe and they started disappearing, and we thought, we're on to something. >> that is what i love about seafood watch. it's not a you shouldn't. it's let's empower to you make a great choice. >> we wanted to get businesses like retailers, food service companies, restaurants to make a commitment they would source

only from responsible fisheries. >> wow, that is really impressive. you can taste it. yummy. >> big name chefs have joined in, from catch to table. he uses seafood watch every day. >> as chefs, we have an opportunity to spread that awareness, and once we can deliver something like this in this format, it's a lot more buy-in. >> why i care about it, i want the seafood that i know, love and eat today to be around for my kids, and without seafood watch and without conservation efforts like this, that's not guaranteed anymore. >> seafood watch is the most recognized seafood rating program. it's an innovative and extremely

effective solution to a worldwide problem. i not only love jen's passion for this. she grew up around the water. she's a diver. i'm a diver, and when you are in the water and you're in a magical an aquatic world, you realize how small we are in their world. also the human impact on what are defenseless creatures. >> from the open sea to the swimming pool. cnn anchor don lemon dives in with a synchronized swim team that teaches kids water safety and puts a spin on aging gracefully. >> you're going to help me teach them, right? coach inspires me to get back in touch with what i love. which is swimming and teaching people how to swim. the water is my happy place.

if i didn't have it, i would probably not be very healthy mentally and emotionally. tell me about harlem honeys and bears. >> it's a synchronized swim team. >> for seniors. >> for seniors. in 1975, there were only women on the team. and they said they could call themselves honeys and after a few years, the men decided they wanted to join the team and they decided they wanted to be the bears. so now we have honey and bears. we do synchronized swimming and competitive swimming. some are on walkers and some are canes. but what they enjoy most, is once they get in the water, they feel free. i have been the coach since

1995. it's a little better than 25 years. my oldest swimmer now is 99 years old. >> wow. >> believe it or not, i have been swimming since '64. he is the best coach in the world. he has a lot of patience. because anyone dealing with seniors that we think we can do everything anyway. >> you're taking too long. >> you have a reputation. >> yes. i have a reputation of being too hard but it's all in love. >> taking too long. >> some of my seniors, they say, coach, you know we're 80 years old. i said, you are as old as you feel. because one of the words that i never want to hear on my team is i can't. one of the things i like about the team is they motivate one another. >> now and for the next generation, the harlem honeys

and bears teach water skills through the youth swim program. >> one, two, three. >> coach, it's important for all kids to learn how to swim. but why is it important for black kids to learn how to swim? >> black kids drown twice as much as any other ethnic group. they didn't have an opportunity. >> they got rid of the community pool. they didn't want the races mixing. they filled the pool with concrete or dirt where i grew up because they didn't want kids mixing. and that is one of the reasons a lot of black kids didn't learn how to swim in the '50s and '60s. >> right, the only thing they were able to do is to play in the fire hydrants, and they could sneak in pools at night. that's how our kids started drowning. >> when i hear people can't swim, it makes me sad and it also infuriates me. because i know along the way, they didn't have someone like coach who took them under their

wing to teach them how to swim, and i immediately want to get in the pool with them and teach them. probably around 13 years old, i became a lifeguard. i helped my sisters who are older than me to swim. i helped them become better swimmers. i taught my nieces to swim in the backyard pool. get in. and both of my great nephews. >> all the things i do for my seniors and as well for the youth teams are things that were taught to me, and i enjoy giving back things. >> can you imagine doing anything else? >> i can't imagine doing anything else or being anywhere else than with my seniors. i just love them. i love them. those are my people. those are my peeps. >> okay, that was awesome. and synchronized swimming looks

harder than i thought it was. >> and one participant, 99 years old. >> and don lemon is a lifeguard. >> the next champions for change, i will introduce my champion. it takes more than boot straps to pull yourself up. that's why my change maker is helping men in need suit up for success.

welcome back. men just out of prison have to overcome a lot of challenges to fully rejoin society. my champion for change is giving them support they need. she is suiting them for success on the outside and the inside. >> you're the suit lady, right?

it makes me smile. >> sara is my champion. she founded suited for success in north florida. >> i founded suited for success in 2004. we provide professional business attire, suits, shirts, for men in transition seeking employment. no one was meeting the career needs for men. >> i'm passionate about the efforts because the system is obviously broken. there needs to be a bridge to support the men who have being released and this charity is this bridge. >> i started with some of my friends. i asked them if they had extra suits because i wanted to suit a couple of the guys in jail. they were going to their court appearances and they could wear jail scrubs so we got a couple guys dressed to go to court appearance, and we found out it

made a huge impact on the judge. >> some are homeless, veterans or young men who just need a suit. >> we work with any male who is in transition seeking employment. >> we will take simple, basic steps. >> we don't just provide a suit. we provide job readiness, mentoring, resumes. making sure they are ready for employment. if you tell a man to get out of jail, get a job, take care of your family, you have to give them career employment. if i can get one man to get in the role of the father, take care of his children and do what he really wants to do, then that's the success part for me. today, suited for success is hosting our first suit drive of 2021. one of our slogans is each one, reach one. because the guys we suit and help them, they get a job, they come back and reach back for a young man who is just coming out of what they went through. >> she is putting us around men

that can lead us in that right direction and pull us up, which is what we need in today's world. >> i met you 15 years ago. i lost a lot of weight. and my whole television wardrobe was too big. i started looking for places to donate, and i found suited for success, and once i met you and realized how personal this was for you and still is for you, and that's why i'm supporting you for all these years. >> i know for a fact we have given out more than a million items of clothing. >> a million items. >> are those mine? >> yes, sir. >> those are your faves. >> this is my fave. this is hard to let go of. >> i know, right? you know -- >> i know this is personal for you. i didn't always know why. now i know why. >> this is my son. >> when jamez got in trouble for

unpaid speeding tickets, she saw how one mistake can derail a man's life. >> i commend this lady because she has never, ever, ever gave up on me. that's why i'm here. >> when you are helping men in their late 20s, early 30s, how often are you thinking about james? >> always, going in the juvenile jail, i saw so many there. >> the norm is to dismiss them. to expect they will reoffend. she not only challenges that. she rejects it. she knows if these men, given the support and resources can build lives to rebuild their family, the status quo is not acceptable, and she knows it has to be challenged. >> i'm not only giving them a suit. i'm giving them a dignity. i am giving them a spark. it's amazing what feeling the part in a suit can do. >> and there are so many success

stories from the 15 years at least i have known about the program. >> i feel like your ties have become collector items. >> i hope so. i hope they get to the men who really, really need it. >> i'm so glad she is helping men break the cycle. all right, anderson cooper met another champion helping turning their lives around. before the pandemic, he traveled to kenya where thousands of inmates are without lawyers and waiting for trial. reporting for 60 minutes, anderson met alexander mclean. >> it helps prisoners in africa with legal training. some earned law degrees behind bars and now his program is inspiring inmates in the u.s. >> we work in prisons that filled with poor people, prisons that are filled with minorities, that are filled with people who have not had the best education.

that is the case in the united states as much as uganda or kenya. >> one on one, together -- >> jody polk was inspired by what alexander mclean is doing in african prisons. she studied the law in prison and helped other inmates with their legal issues. she said learning the law behind bars transformed her life. jody continues to help others learn their life and she continues to work to find out what justice defenders might be able to do in american prisons. >> thank you for your role. >> alexander mclean sees himself as a servant and believes that everyone, guilty or innocent, deserves a fair hearing and an opportunity to serve others in need. >> for me, i feel really privileged to be a part of a subversive community and ask how we work together to bring our gifts and talents and how do we get transformed by each other in the process?

>> as desperate crowds rushed kabul airport in afghanistan, changemakers helped them get out. we have their stories up next on champions for change. to your financial plan. bill, mary? hey... it's our former broker carl. carl, say hi to nina, our schwab financial consultant. hm... i know how difficult these calls can be. not with schwab. nina made it easier to set up our financial plan. we can check in on it anytime. it changes when our goals change. planning can't be that easy. actually, it can be, carl. look forward to planning with schwab. schwab! ♪ (door closes) ♪ ♪ (door closes) ♪ ♪ (excited laughter) ahhh!

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if you watched our coverage last month from afghanistan, you saw the ugly horrors of war. beneath the headlines, heroes were hard at work. these champions were risking their lives while making huge impacts. cnn's chief international correspondent clarissa ward was on the ground during those tense and violent days and she joins us from london. clarissa, great to see you. the world was gripped by your coverage from afghanistan. tell us what it felt like on the ground. what was the desperation like in the air? >> it was horrifying. it was just a crush of humanity, pushing, shoving, biting, screaming, shouting, anything they can do to try to get in the

airport, try to get their children into the airport. when we were able to get in, we were surrounded by babies. >> we watched some of the videos from back here in the u.s. and awesome of the kids being passed over. and there is always the stories of humanity. what did you see on the ground of people who were trying to help others? >> the situation around the airport was chaotic, i was dangerous and we have seen it again and again, alisyn. they don't appear on the evening news, and they want to remain anonymous. but i saw networks emerging of former soldiers and civilians on the ground, afghan women helping others that were still stuck inside the country, trying to coordinate and help people on the ground with information about how they could get out with no real incentive for

themselves except just to help. >> we are grateful to you, and personal risk and sacrifice. thanks so much. it's great talking to you. >> thank you, alisyn. the u.s. is a prime destination for refugees and some of them are cooking up new careers with their old country recipes. cnn's anna cabrera got a taste at kamal. >> we focus on helping low income immigrant woman who want to start their own food businesses. >> sylvia came from mexico and saw more opportunity here in the u.s. she planted her two feet on the ground and tried to find out how to make ends meet. she found a family resource center. >> that is when i meet the other ladies. we started talking about, what would you like to do here, or

what do you do here? and everybody said, i would like to have a business and sell food. that idea started getting in my head. >> a lot of them have entrepreneurial background. but they needed a few more steps to put the skills together and really understand what was needed to have a culinary business. >> so you helped create this place? >> i think all the ladies including me -- kamal. >> as a girl, cnn anchor pamela brown looked up after her big brother lincoln. as an adult, she still does. a few years ago, her brother gave christmas gifts to a family from tanzania. it inspired friends to help the family, too. >> suddenly this family that had so little, felt so displaced had a community rallying around them. >> let's go. >> about 52 people have contributed and have been a part

of his life. some really small and some really big ways. >> they call me -- i need to take you and your sister. let's go to the playground. let's go play soccer. >> they were total strangers. >> the decided to renovate a house. will pitched in, eager to help what he thought was another family in need. >> i was working as hard as i can. i knew to help someone -- >> really got his hands dirty. he learned a trade. >> this house is for you and your family. >> sometimes you just need someone to believe in you in life, to give you a chance to get you going, so you pick up and you're good, you can swim on your own. ahead on champions for change, dr. sanjay gupta has one woman's wold bold stand against the opioid epidemic. bold stand

opioid epidemic. >> go to cnn.com/champions to learn more about the stories of the individuals and the lasting impact of their actions.

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welcome back to champions for change. hundreds of thousands of families struggle with opioid addiction. >> it's a health crisis dr. sanjay gupta has reported on a lot. tonight, he shows us a fighter who turned her personal pain into a public crusade. >> it was always the opiates and they could turn to the heroin. >> overdose. >> the usual suspect is a painkiller. >> many cities report a surge in heroin use. >> so many times we talk about the opioid crisis, we talk about dozens of people or tens of thousands have died from overdoses. we talk about it from a policy perspective. but what it makes it distinctive, this is an

individual who is dealing with substance abuse, but the whole family. >> i lost my niece a couple years ago, i lost my brother two years ago, and complications of his addiction. >> joann peterson's family is dealing with addiction. >> i have terrible gift because in the end, i really wasn't there for them in the end and it haunts me. it wasn't that i didn't want to be. i knew i couldn't fix her problem or change it. she just disappeared and i got a call she was in beth israel hospital on life support. so that haunts me. >> it was another part of the struggle with the stigma of substance abuse she dealt with most of her life, until she met others like her at a community

meeting about drug overdoses. >> i started saying to people, let's start meeting. >> in 2004, learn to cope was born. >> we are there to help the family and remind the family that no matter what, you're going to be okay, and i had so many people say to me, they feel grateful that they were a member of a peer group like learn to cope because they understood the disease. i know a mom, her son had cancer, he had been prescribed oxycontin. he was in pain, and he turned to heroin. she said, she missed his cancer. she said, everyone loved him then. no one gives anything about him now. >> after 20 years of covering

the stories, i still learn something every time i meet someone like joann peterson. the idea that the ultimate first responder in this opioid epidemic is usually a family member. >> we really want to educate families how to recognize an overdose and what puts them at risk and make sure they have narcan in their home. >> it gives families a chance to rescue someone they love. do have you any idea how many rescues have been reported? >> i know for learn to cope, it's been over 200. >> a volunteer with learn to cope, jim says the group is vital support as he wrestles with his own son's fentanyl abuse. people walk away with a kit including narcan. how important is that? >> it is critically important.

two people i trained have used it to save their loves ones, including my son's mother who saved his friend from an overtime six months ago. >> the stories that end up having the greatest impact are the ones that start off the way the story goes. it's an individual that channels that grief into something really meaningful and starts an arm. not just about accepting the status quo. it's doing everything you can to change it. >> i'm scrappy. not afraid to speak up. i never considered myself a champion. but i am a fighter. now, another woman who is a fighter. lieutenant general gwen bingham, the arm's second black woman to become a three star general.

she retired with you didn't stop serving. >> she is on the board of blue star families a support network for service member love ones. she mentors spouses of color. for brianna keilar, whose husband is a green beret, it hits home. >> i'm the mother of two children of color, and because their dad is in the military, they are more likely to join the military when they get older. i want to make sure it's an inclusive place. >> i just feel a sense of wanting, a sense of desire to pay it forward or pay it back to the next generation that is up and coming. >> okay, up next, you will meet my champion for change, a mental health leader smashing stigmas and creating a new way to treat anxiety and depression in schools. that's easily adjustable

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>> with three teenagers of my own, i know they navigate a mine field of health issues. for too many kids, help can be hard to find and hard to afford. but there is a change. a new approach to mental health. >> when i walk out the door and i'm headed to work, knowing that we are literally saving and changing lives, that's the most powerful thing. >> in a rural community tucked between vermont and new hampshire, the seeds of a mental health revolution are quietly being planted. shawn perry of we are hope is bringing mental health services to schools at no cost to the students. >> hello, everybody. >> i'm here to make sure that if you guys have a difficult day

that you have someone to talk to. >> we are able to help kids that would not normally have access to mental health support. >> when the pandemic hit, i didn't recognize my babies anymore. >> lindsay and jacob struggled with anxiety and depression. >> it kind of felt like there was an icy ball in the back of my throat. i felt so hopeless. >> it felt like i was in a cage i couldn't escape from. >> i didn't know how to help them. if we don't have we are hope available, i could have walked my kids down a dangerous path. >> one of the top causes of death for teenagers is suicide. the statistics are really frightening. i'm the mother of three teenagers so i'm always attuned to their moods and mental health. and i remember being a teenager.

those were turbulent years. between 15 to 17, i lived in six different houses. there was a lot of upheaval and it did end up affecting my mental health. did you have some of the same issues? >> i struggled significantly with anxiety. in my 20s, i was hopeless, alone. i made a deal with myself i was going to go to the local park and just end everything, and i woke up and i was like, i'm still here. i'm still here. my purpose right now is to make sure that there's not another kid on this planet that has to feel the way i felt. >> how is it going? >> good. >> are you excited? >> yeah. >> i am too. >> how does it function in the school? >> we have a coach in the six for six hours.

we can see 12 students in a day. when we see the kids, it's because of a behavior. throwing a desk, blowing up in class. we impact their behavior. >> before it impacted the school two years ago, we had two school counselors for 300 kids. we did our best but it wasn't enough. we are hope is what i consider a missing piece in the education. if students get the support to cope with anxiety, they can learn. >> we gathered at the heartland diner to hear from the kids themselves. >> how many people felt more anxiety or more depression during the pandemic? all of you . >> it was really big negative impact on my life. >> trying to get in fighting and stuff. >> i missed a lot. >> my depression hit me so hard.

>> give me a technique that we are hope helped you. >> i learned a new technique, birthday cake. you smell the birthday cake and you blow out the candles. >> how do you smell the birthday cake? how many of you feel hopeful? even though there are tough things in the world, that is great. how do you explain what we just saw here? >> we keep changing the culture. we listen to what they need and give them skills to work through it. >> at the end of the day when you're alone and driving home, what is in your head? >> how do we reach more kids? that's what i'm thinking about. we want to be everywhere in the united states. i do not stop. i'm beyond relentless. >> you and i talked about how much time my kids spend in algebra every day when they can talk about mental health. >> 60 to 90 days of support is so important. >> it is. if you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can reach the national suicide

prevention lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. or go online. scuba driving for 30 years, and during a reason dive she saw some things that were encouraging and got a glimpse at the future thanks to a group called driving for a purpose. >> i want to save the ocean. i want to save the ocean because i want my children to be able to see and experience the beauty of it. >> kramer's passion is coral reefs. they are home to a quarter of all sea life. they are vital to global ecology, and they are dying. 18-year-old ohio state freshman greg hood gets it.

he learned to dive through dwp and has committed to the organization's five-year program that teaches ocean conservation technique. this partnership is behind the magic of diving with a purpose. >> all of the youth in the program are not going to end up working in the field of marine biology or ecology. but they are learning the importance of it and what their place is. and what their responsibility is. for me, that's enough. >> you will want to see what's up next because our friend john berman shows us his moves. ♪ >> that's an innovative theater for young rising stars. champions for change is presented by charles schwab. go to cnn.com/champions to learn more about these stories of

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everybody thought i was crazy. you don't drive a big truck. >> i can't reach the pedal. >> wait. how is it reaching the pedal when you are 5'3". >> i get on down like anybody else. >> i instantly saw a need to create a space for more women to come in. we have over 20,000 professional women drivers. i help a lot of women and making sure they get their certifications and being registered? different departments of

government to haul transportation good. >> sheet trucking is definitely sister hood. if you are stuck sod wme where, that's what it's. even though we may never met in person. there is trucking in your blood, right? >> it is. >> my dad is a truck driver. >> i do this because of my mom. my mom is one of the strongest people i know. he's a truck driver. >> i remember many days of opening up the gate and have her mom backup her bus and i saw her training women. >> together we are stronger. nobody thought she could do it because she's 5'3". she was the only black person in the room and nothing ever fazed her. >> hey, welcome to sheet trucking.

it encourages and inspires women to become a trucker. >> i looked on youtube and lele learned how to build a website and make my t-shirt and it grew and grew. >> you look at her who has more than 20,000 women that she is mentoring, that she's trying to change the trucking industry so that women can succeed and thrive and be safe in it. what do you think about your child? >> i am so proud of her. she built this entire organization to help other people. that's what champions does. >> the theater is a great place for young people to try on new roles and figure out who they are. >> our own john berman was quite the performer back in high school. i have been waiting for this one. >> he cameo at a youth theater

where diversity was the star. >> what does it feel like for you when you are on stage? >> nervous but when you get on stage, it's automobilexhilarati. >> what do you want kids to get? >> we want them to get a sense of belonging and have that self-confidence to go into the world and take what they learn with us and the kindness and their inclusivity and take it into their lives. >> becky and lily woods created the children's theater. it's becoming second home for hundreds of kids in the bronx.

>> i am born and raised in the bronx. lived and worked here my whole life. no child is ever turned away for financial reasons. it's not just theater that they are working on. they are working on life and learning confidence and learning courage and learning trust. they are learning how to trust each other. it's wonderful to see it all come together. >> everything is happening the last year, we have questions about racial justice all around the country and we had all kinds of anti-semitic attacks.

>> we find it's really our success. >> i just want to get away from it all because it's so dark to talk about. to be in a place where i don't have to worry about it is amazing. i can be who i am. >> you learn so much about other people's cultures and it makes you so much aware about yourself. >> i did theaters sort of my whole life. my first play was in first grade. i played a donkey. the last show i did was a drag show my senior year of college. i was never good to do anything with it but it did not matter. i loved it. >> i think you need a little musical theater back into his life. do you think we can get him into one of our numbers today? >> yes! >> so just sing out and have fun

with him. should we try it? >> okay. >> ♪ >> when i was on stage with them, they don't hold back. they're all in. >> i know. >> are they awesome? >> they really are. >> they're so good to each other and they support each other. it's beautiful. >> i stunk and they made me feel great about it. [ laughter ] >> you are amazing. >> i can use a few more rehe rehearses. >> his heart was in that. >> i feel he should incorporate more dancing into "new day." >> in the spotlight or behind the scenes, people have the

capacity to accomplish great things. the champions you saw tonight are a fraction of the folks out there improving the lives of others. in big ways and small wayways, maybe you can be a champion for change too. i am victor blackwell. >> thank you for watching. ♪ all of our viewers here, i am robyn curnow. coming up of the show, the end of an era in germany. voters are choosing angela me merkel's run. and afghanistan, taliban crates a shocking display of what they say is an effort to deter crimes. four alleged kidnappers and hung and on full display across the country'