Vote Today, Watch on Thanksgiving: 2009 CNN Heroes

It's your last chance to vote for your favorite 2009 CNN Hero!

A "Blue Ribbon Panel" selected the 2009 Top Ten CNN Heroes out of 9,000 nominations, and now you can choose the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year from their Top Ten. Voting ends Thursday, November 19 at 6 AM ET.

The Top Ten Heroes are an incredibly inspiring group. You can watch videos about each hero, and learn more about their stories on the 2009 CNN Heroes voting page. Give their organizations a click below:

• Brad Blauser, Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids (One Person Can Make a Difference blog)
  
• Roy Foster, Stand Down
• Doc Hendley, Wine to Water
• Andrea Ivory, Florida Breast Health Initiative
• Betty Makoni, Girl Child Network
• Jorge Munoz, An Angel in Queens
• Efren Peñaflorida, Dynamic Teen Company
• Budi Soehardi, Roslin Orphanage (Roslin Orphanage blog)
  
• Derrick Tabb, The Roots of Music (Roots of Music blog)
  
• Jordan Thomas, Jordan Thomas Foundation

Each Hero will receive $25,000 in recognition of their work, and the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year will receive an additional $100,000. The winner will be announced on CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute which airs Thursday, November 26 (Thanksgiving) 9 PM ET/PT on CNN.

Personally, I voted for Betty Makoni (pictured left), because I was moved when I read her story in Paola Gianturco's book, Women Who Light the Dark, and when I heard her story again while interviewing Paola for the Big Vision Podcast.

Even if you don't get a chance to vote, you can still watch the show on Thanksgiving. It's definitely a better option than having football on, don't you think?

Cross-posted from BlogHer.com.