Efren Peñaflorida, a Filipino social worker who started a “pushcart classroom” in the Philippines, has been named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. “Kuya F”, as he is popularly known, and the Dynamic Teen Company, a group that offers education as an alternative to gang memberships to poor children, were selected after seven weeks of voting at CNN.com. Aside from the award, Efren and his group received a $100,000 grant that they can use to continue their work to help poor children in the slum areas of the Philippines.

In his acceptance speech, Efren said:

Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry. Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.

So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell to my co-volunteers… you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.

Here are the others included in the 2009 Top Ten CNN Heroes:

• Brad Blauser
  Brad Blauser is providing hope and mobility to disabled children and their families in Iraq. Since 2005, his Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids program has distributed nearly 650 free pediatric wheelchairs to children in need.
• Roy Foster
  Army veteran Roy Foster started Stand Down House to help veterans struggling with addiction and homelessness in Florida. Since 2000, his program has provided life-changing services to nearly 900 veterans.
• Doc Hendley
  Bartender Doc Hendley is providing clean water to communities worldwide. Through creative fundraising, his nonprofit Wine to Water has brought sustainable water systems to 25,000 people in five countries.
• Andrea Ivory
  Breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory is bringing early detection to the doorsteps of uninsured women. With mobile mammography vans, her group has provided more than 500 free screenings in Miami, Florida.
• Betty Makoni
  Zimbabwe native Betty Makoni founded the Girl Child Network to provide a haven for young victims of sexual abuse. The organization has rescued more than 35,000 girls since 2001.
• Jorge Munoz
  School bus driver Jorge Munoz is helping hungry New Yorkers make it through tough times. Since 2004, he has handed out more than 70,000 meals from his mobile soup kitchen in Queens — for free.
• Budi Soehardi
  Budi Soehardi founded a children’s home in one of the poorest areas of Indonesia. Today, Roslin Orphanage in West Timor provides food, shelter and education to more than 45 children.
• Derrick Tabb
  Derrick Tabb started The Roots of Music to give young people an alternative to New Orleans’ streets. His music education program provides free tutoring, instruments and music instruction to more than 100 students.
• Jordan Thomas
  Jordan Thomas, 20, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, lost both of his legs in a boating accident in 2005. Since then, his Jordan Thomas Foundation has raised more than $400,000 to provide prosthetics for children in need.

Mabuhay ka, Efren! Because of your selfless deeds, there’s again a reason for us to become truly proud to be a Filipino!