Stanley resident, PCHS alum helped form Animal Rescue Corps in 2010 and is now one of five finalists for CNN Hero of the Year
~ PVN staff report
MARKSVILLE, Dec. 5 — While the town listed below Tim Woodward’s name is Gallatin, Tenn., the Page County High School graduate actually has a home in Marksville. However, Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), which he helped form in 2010, is based in Gallatin, and the work he’s done with this non-profit organization to save the lives of thousands of animals has now earned the Stanley native a spot among the five finalists for CNN’s 2025 Hero of the Year.
While Woodward’s competitors hail from places like Chicago and Los Angeles, many in the area have been maxing out their 10 votes per day for the “local” hero to earn his organization the $100,000 grand prize.
Saturday evening’s special at 8 p.m. will feature profiles of all five finalists, and announce the winner.
“The biggest thing of all is it’s bringing more eyes and awareness to the work we and many other organizations are doing…just getting exposure, and this brings attention and ultimately changes minds and hearts,” Woodward told PVN in October.
In 2010, a small group of like-minded people launched a “large-scale emergency rescue” organization that gets called in (often by law enforcement) when situations involving companion animals are particularly bad, or particularly large. ARC has an annual budget of just over $1 million that supports 12 to 15 big calls each year, along with raising public awareness and conducting training sessions for shelters, citizens and volunteers.
Now, after touching the lives of thousands of animals and countless humans over the past 15 years, Woodward was named a CNN Hero and nominated as a finalist for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. The initial award for being named a CNN Hero brought with it, a $10,000 cash award. If Woodward earns the title of 2025 CNN Hero of the Year, the national non-profit Animal Rescue Corps could receive $100,000. Voting ended Nov. 30.
“This prize will directly fund rescues, medical care, rehabilitation, and rehoming,” according to the ARC website.
“Every case is its own motivation and it’s own reward,” Woodward said. “Every arrival is its own reward. Seeing the difference you make in the moment. They say, ‘You can’t save every animal in the world, but every time you do save one, it’s their whole world.’ When we’re lucky, we see the joy of the family they end up with. Every single one is an inspiration and a reward.”
To see the CNN INTERVIEW with Tim…
To donate to this national non-profit, tax-deductible, 501(c)(3) organization
impacting the lives of hundreds of animals each year,
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