Becca Stevens Named One of CNN’s Top 10 ‘Heroes of the Year’

Becca Stevens

Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that helps women scarred by addiction, prostitution, and trafficking, is one of 10 candidates in the running to be named “CNN’s Hero of the Year” for 2016. Stevens was recognized with the nomination for her tireless work on behalf of Nashville women, offering them medical care, counseling, education, and a safe residence for two years while they get back on their feet. The Episcopal priest started Thistle Farms nearly 20 years ago and it now runs five residential communities in Nashville. Fifteen years ago, Stevens and a few of the residents started making bath and body products, an endeavor that has turned into a million-dollar company that employs more than 70 people, with two-thirds being graduates of the residential program. The products are now sold at more than 400 stores worldwide.

“It made perfect sense to me to make body care products that were about healing bodies — bodies that had been used and abused for so long,” Stevens told CNN. “When we started out, it was me and four women using borrowed pots and pans and stirring body balm and candles. We started calling ourselves a cottage industry; there wasn’t such a thing as a social enterprise. The women have built the business. They run sales, accounting, manufacturing, shipping, and they keep growing the company so that more women can come through and be a part of it. From the healing oils that waft through the air to the spirit of resilient women, it is inspiring work.”

Stevens and each of the 10 CNN heroes will receive a $10,000 cash prize, and one will be named “CNN Hero of the Year” and receive an additional $100,000 for his or her cause. You can vote here or via email, Facebook Messenger and Twitter.

The finalists’ achievements will be spotlighted during “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” a global celebration airing on CNN Dec. 11. ABC’s Kelly Ripa will join Anderson Cooper as co-host for this special 10th-annual show, which will air live from New York’s American Museum of Natural History.

Stevens is the wife of songwriter Marcus Hummon and mother to Big Machine artist Levi Hummon. More information on Thistle Farms and Stevens’ Hero nomination can be found here.