CNN’s Hero of the Year, Chad Pregracke, made a pit stop in Rock Island to help spread some cheer and positive light.
On Thursday, February 20, 2014 Pregracke stopped at UnityPoint Trinity in Rock Island to visit some patients to help motivate and inspire them.
A spokesperson from UnityPoint Health said that Pregracke was hosted by the Rehabilitation Education and Entertainment Program. He spoke at an open forum that was free to patients and available to the public. The event was aimed to inspire those battling medical problems to focus on their healthcare goals.
Pregracke planned to get back to cleaning the Mississippi River the week after Thursday’s event.
See more coverage of Chad Pregracke and his cleanup efforts.
“The reason we’re cleaning the Mississippi River is simple – it needs to be cleaned up and nobody else is doing it,” Pregracke said. “Eighteen million people get their drinking water out of it every day, including most of the people in the Quad Cities.”
For being selected as CNN’s Hero of the Year, Pregracke was awarded $250,000. He planned to use the money to help in his mission of replanting and growing a million new trees.
