Aaron Jackson
Plantingpeace.org
Currently residing at the COSAC Foundation's homeless shelter in Hollywood, this 24-year-old has sacrificed comfort and safety so others may live. Having grown up in swanky Destin, Jackson was appalled by the soul-crushing poverty he encountered in Haiti and resolved to do something about it. His solution was to open an orphanage in Cité Soleil to provide shelter, food and medicine to some of the littlest residents of a ravaged land. Earlier this year, he opened another orphanage in Haiti to cater to children with HIV, as well as a rehab center in Cuenca, Ecuador, to care for kids addicted to sniffing glue. In addition to facing the ever-present risks of street violence and illness -- he has battled malaria and staph infections -- Jackson continues to forgo material things many people could not imagine living without. "If I had to pick a hero for the type of work I do, it'd be Aaron," COSAC founder Sean Cononie says. "Most people would be driving a newer car, having nicer clothes and not living the life of poverty."
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