to share how our hero is saving lives, welcome jane lynch. >> in the united states military there's as of ptsd and depression and have to fight to get the care they need and to fight the urge to commit suicide, mary cortani's got their backs in a profound way, not just because she's a veteran too but because she finds these men and women a loyal, loving companion that helps them put their lives back together. three years ago she started matching veterans in need of a service dog with the right shelter dog in need of a home and let me tell you it's a soulful thing witnessing this bond at work training as a team so when they go out in the world the dog can sense if the veteran is becoming overwhelmed by the sounds and anxiety, and the dog calms, and the dog watches, and the veteran knows whose got their 6. >> there were really close friends of mine that were killed in action. we are trained to see everything. if i don't see something, somebody can die. coming back to the regular everyday civilian life, reality didn't make sense anymore. i found myself walking, and i am standing for thre

here is jane lynch. >> in the united states military there's a saying "i've got your 6."that feel isolated with the affects of ptsd and depression and have to fight to get the care they need and to fight the urge to commit suicide, mary cortani's got their backs in a profound way. not because she is a veteran, too, but because she finds these men and women a loyal and loving companion that helps them put their lives back together. three years ago she started matching veterans in need of a service dog with a shelter dog in need of a home. and let me tell you it's a soul full joy. when they go out in the world, the dog can sense if the veteran is fighting a flashback, becoming overwhelmed with the sounds, and anxiety. the dog calms, the dog watches, and the veteran knows who's got their 6. >> these are two of my friends, really close friends of mine. they were killed in action. being an infanryman, we are trained to see everything. if i don't see something, somebody can die. coming back to the everyday civilian life, reality didn't make sense anymore. when i find myself wal

. >> jane lynch is right. we love our dogs, us dog lovers. this is my dog, actually, molly.l love her. our next hero found a way to partner rescue dogs with people that need help. of the 2 million soldiers deployed to iraq and afghanistan, one in five returns with posttraumatic stress disorder. to share how our hero is saving lives, please welcome jane lynch. [ applause ] >> in the united states military there's a saying i got your 6. that means don't worry, i got your back. for our veterans that struggle with the invisible wounds of war that feel isolated with the effects of ptsd and depression and have to fight to get the care they need and to fight the urge to commit suicide, mary cortani's got their backs in a profound way. not because she is a veteran, too, but because she finds these men and women a loyal and loving companion that helps them put their lives back together. three years ago she started matching veterans in need with a service dog with a shelter dog in need of a home. when they go out in the world, the dog can sense if the veteran is fighting a flashback,

. >> jane lynch is right. we love our dogs, us dog lovers. i'm a dog lover.ou can possibly imagine. it's like a squirrel has crawled inside her and died, but i still love her. our next hero found an innovative way to partner rescue dogs with people that really could use some help. of the 2 million soldiers deployed to iraq and afghanistan, 1 in 5 returns with post traumatic stress disorder. to share how our hero is saving lives, please welcome jane lynch. >> in the united states military there's a saying "i've got your 6." that means don't worry, i got your back. for our veterans that struggle with the invisible wounds of war who feel isolated with the effects of ptsd and depression, who have to fight to get the care they need, and to foyt the urge to commit suicide, mary cortani's got their backs in a profound way. not because she is a veteran, too, but because she finds these men and women a loyal and loving companion who helps them put their lives back together. three years ago she started matching veterans in need of a serve dog with the right shelter dog

look who i found here with me, jane lynch.much for being a part of this night tonight. >> well it is my honor to be here this is one of my favorite events of the year and it's really nice when we shine the spotlight on people we otherwise might not have heard about, who are doing extraordinary things. >> yes, you are. you are presenting to mary pore tanny tonight, you went into the field to see the work that she does first harden with the service dogs for veterans. >> that's right. mary is a veteran herself and she takes shelter dogs and matches them one our wounded vet transand she traipse the dogs and she teaches the veterans how to be with them and they heal each other. it's an amazing relationship h i was in gilroy, california, i spent the day with her and watched her training the dogs. i talked to some of the vets, david rodriguez one of them, an amazing guy you will meet tonight. and she does work that is just so straight from the heart and a such loyalty and dedication to these guys and it's wonderful. >> absolutely. yo

susan sarandon, jane lynch, rapper 50 cent, neo will be here.s of people who decided i want to come out and say thank you to the everyday people who have decided i'm going to do what i can do to change the world. actually, hey, chris, can you swing over here because we've got our cnn top ten heroes right here. we've got our cnn top ten heroes taking a group picture. holly is like please don't leave, please don't leave, i want my picture taken, too. >> when you study what they have done and you watch the deeds they do and you see them in person, it's really quite astounding. it just feels so good to be here with them. and especially right now around the holidays you see people that are doing things, good things. we read about so many bad things and it uplifts you. they're 1.4 or 1.5 million nonprofits in the country. we have to support them and here are some more. >> by supporting them, each of the top ten heroes gets a $50,000 grant for their organization and the hero of the year gets a $250,000 grant to help aid their good work. >> i'm going to