Chad Pregracke, an Illinois man who has
dedicated his life to cleaning the Mississippi River
and other U.S. waterways, is the 2013 CNN Hero
of the Year.
Pregracke organizes community cleanups across
the country through his nonprofit, Living Lands
& Waters. About 70,000 volunteers have pitched
in, helping Pregracke collect more than 7 million
pounds of trash in the past 15 years.
"The garbage got into the water one piece at a
time," Pregracke said earlier this year. "And that's
the only way it's going to come out."
Pregracke was recognized during Sunday night's
airing of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute"
along with the rest of this year's top 10 CNN
Heroes -- everyday people doing extraordinary
things to help change the world. He was chosen
as Hero of the Year through a five-week public
vote on CNN.com.
"I'll just keep on cleaning up America's rivers and
loving every minute of it," said Pregracke when
he accepted the award.
For being named CNN Hero of the Year,
Pregracke receives $250,000 to continue his
work. That is in addition to the $50,000 that each
Hero receives for making the top 10.
During the show, Pregracke pledged to spread
some of his Hero of the Year money to the rest of
the top 10 Heroes: "I've met so many great people
today, the other Heroes, and I'm really moved by
all their stories and all the things they do around
the world. ... I'm going to give 10 grand to each
of them, because they're awesome."
Pregracke, 38, grew up in East Moline, Illinois,
where the Mississippi River was in his backyard.
As a teenager, he worked as a commercial shell
diver and began to notice the heaps of debris in
the fabled waterway, which supplies drinking
water to 18 million people in more than 50 U.S.
cities.
"I saw thousands of barrels, thousands of tires,
cars, trucks and tops of school buses. ... I got sick
of seeing it and just wanted to do something
about it," said Pregracke, whom some have called
"the rivers' garbageman."
For nine months out of the year, Pregracke lives
on a barge with members of his 12-person crew.
They go around the country with a fleet of boats,
and they try to make cleanup fun for the
volunteers who show up in each city.
They use skits, music and mock motivational
speeches to get the volunteers amped up, and
sometimes they even do a little karaoke. Teams
also compete to see who can find the "best"
garbage.
"We do everything in our power to get people
excited about it," Pregracke said. "We want
people to leave feeling good about what they did
so they'll come back."
Close to 90% of what they recover is recycled;
Pregracke said the rest gets disposed of properly.
In addition to the river cleanup, Pregracke has
launched a floating classroom barge where his
staff educates high school students and teachers
about the damages of pollution on river
ecosystems. In 2007, his nonprofit implemented a
program to plant 1 million trees along river
shorelines to protect and restore the natural
environment. The group is halfway to its goal.
Pregracke says his nonprofit has already held
more than 700 cleanups on 23 rivers, but he says
he's just getting started. He views his work as a
different kind of service to the country.
"A lot of people call me a conservationist or an
environmentalist, but the thing is I'm no different
than anybody else," he said. "I just want to be
known (as) a hardworking American."
This is the seventh year CNN has conducted its
annual search for CNN Heroes. In those years, the
campaign has profiled more than 200 people on
CNN and CNN.com.
This year's top 10 were nominated by CNN's
global audience and profiled earlier this year on
CNN.
In addition to receiving $50,000, each will also
receive free organizational training from the
Annenberg Foundation, a leading supporter of
nonprofits worldwide. The Heroes will participate
in a customized version of the Annenberg
Alchemy program, which offers practical
guidance to help strengthen organizations for
long-term success.
Here are the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013, in
alphabetical order:
Dale Beatty: Making life easier for disabled
veterans After Dale Beatty lost his legs in the Iraq
war, his community thanked him for his service
by helping him build a home. To pay it forward,
Beatty co-founded Purple Heart Homes, which
has helped build or modify homes for dozens of
disabled U.S. veterans. "We wouldn't leave
someone behind on the battlefield," Beatty said.
"Why would we do it at home?" Read Beatty's
story
Georges Bwelle: Bringing health care to the
jungle For decades, Georges Bwelle watched his
father suffer, unable to get the medical attention
he needed. Now a doctor, Bwelle travels into the
jungles of his native Cameroon nearly every
weekend, providing free medical care for those
who don't have access to good health care. "To
make people laugh, to reduce the pain, that's why
I'm doing this," he said. Read Bwelle's story
Robin Emmons: Creating an oasis in a 'food
desert' More than 72,000 people in Charlotte,
North Carolina, lack access to fresh produce.
When Robin Emmons discovered this problem,
she took action. "I decided to rip up my whole
backyard and make it all a garden for people in
need," she said. Since 2008, Emmons has grown
more than 26,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables
for area residents. Read Emmons' story
Danielle Gletow: Granting wishes for foster kids
Foster children don't often get the things other
children do, but Danielle Gletow is trying to help
change that. She posts their wishes online so the
public can help grant them. "I'm here to be the
mom to all these kids who might not feel like they
have one," she said. Since 2008, her group has
helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.
Read Gletow's story
Tawanda Jones: Giving kids a way off deadly
streets Tawanda Jones is using dance to empower
the youth of Camden, New Jersey, one of the
poorest cities in the country. Through Jones' drill
team program, at least 4,000 children have
learned discipline, respect and community service
-- and all of them have graduated high school.
"We need to take back our city and, most
importantly, take back our youth," Jones said.
Read Jones' story
Richard Nares: Helping sick kids get to chemo
For many children fighting cancer, it can be
extremely tough to make it to their chemotherapy
appointments. But Richard Nares started a group
that gives them transportation and support. "No
child should miss their cancer treatment due to
lack of transportation," said Nares, who lost his
son to leukemia in 2000. Read Nares' story
Kakenya Ntaiya: Educating girls for the first time
Kakenya Ntaiya is inspiring change in her native
Kenyan village. After becoming the first woman
in the village to attend college in the United
States, she returned to open the village's first
primary school for girls. "Our work is about
empowering the girls," Ntaiya said. "They are
dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers,
doctors." Read Ntaiya's story
Chad Pregracke: Cleaning up American rivers
Chad Pregracke has made it his life's work to
clean up the Mississippi River and other American
waterways. Since 1998, about 70,000 volunteers
have helped Pregracke remove more than 7
million pounds of garbage from 22 rivers across
the country. "Picking up garbage, it's tough,
miserable and hot," Pregracke said. "We try to
make it fun." Read Pregracke's story
Estella Pyfrom: Bringing computers to kids in
need Estella Pyfrom used her life savings to create
"Estella's Brilliant Bus," a mobile computer lab
that provides tutoring for thousands of low-
income students in Palm Beach County, Florida.
"It's not just a bus, it's a movement," Pyfrom said.
"And we're going to keep making a difference."
Read Pyfrom's story
Laura Stachel: Lighting the way for safe
childbirths Laura Stachel created a special "solar
suitcase" to help health care workers deliver
babies in more than 20 developing countries. "I
really want a world where women can deliver
babies safely and with dignity," Stachel said.
dedicated his life to cleaning the Mississippi River
and other U.S. waterways, is the 2013 CNN Hero
of the Year.
Pregracke organizes community cleanups across
the country through his nonprofit, Living Lands
& Waters. About 70,000 volunteers have pitched
in, helping Pregracke collect more than 7 million
pounds of trash in the past 15 years.
"The garbage got into the water one piece at a
time," Pregracke said earlier this year. "And that's
the only way it's going to come out."
Pregracke was recognized during Sunday night's
airing of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute"
along with the rest of this year's top 10 CNN
Heroes -- everyday people doing extraordinary
things to help change the world. He was chosen
as Hero of the Year through a five-week public
vote on CNN.com.
"I'll just keep on cleaning up America's rivers and
loving every minute of it," said Pregracke when
he accepted the award.
For being named CNN Hero of the Year,
Pregracke receives $250,000 to continue his
work. That is in addition to the $50,000 that each
Hero receives for making the top 10.
During the show, Pregracke pledged to spread
some of his Hero of the Year money to the rest of
the top 10 Heroes: "I've met so many great people
today, the other Heroes, and I'm really moved by
all their stories and all the things they do around
the world. ... I'm going to give 10 grand to each
of them, because they're awesome."
Pregracke, 38, grew up in East Moline, Illinois,
where the Mississippi River was in his backyard.
As a teenager, he worked as a commercial shell
diver and began to notice the heaps of debris in
the fabled waterway, which supplies drinking
water to 18 million people in more than 50 U.S.
cities.
"I saw thousands of barrels, thousands of tires,
cars, trucks and tops of school buses. ... I got sick
of seeing it and just wanted to do something
about it," said Pregracke, whom some have called
"the rivers' garbageman."
For nine months out of the year, Pregracke lives
on a barge with members of his 12-person crew.
They go around the country with a fleet of boats,
and they try to make cleanup fun for the
volunteers who show up in each city.
They use skits, music and mock motivational
speeches to get the volunteers amped up, and
sometimes they even do a little karaoke. Teams
also compete to see who can find the "best"
garbage.
"We do everything in our power to get people
excited about it," Pregracke said. "We want
people to leave feeling good about what they did
so they'll come back."
Close to 90% of what they recover is recycled;
Pregracke said the rest gets disposed of properly.
In addition to the river cleanup, Pregracke has
launched a floating classroom barge where his
staff educates high school students and teachers
about the damages of pollution on river
ecosystems. In 2007, his nonprofit implemented a
program to plant 1 million trees along river
shorelines to protect and restore the natural
environment. The group is halfway to its goal.
Pregracke says his nonprofit has already held
more than 700 cleanups on 23 rivers, but he says
he's just getting started. He views his work as a
different kind of service to the country.
"A lot of people call me a conservationist or an
environmentalist, but the thing is I'm no different
than anybody else," he said. "I just want to be
known (as) a hardworking American."
This is the seventh year CNN has conducted its
annual search for CNN Heroes. In those years, the
campaign has profiled more than 200 people on
CNN and CNN.com.
This year's top 10 were nominated by CNN's
global audience and profiled earlier this year on
CNN.
In addition to receiving $50,000, each will also
receive free organizational training from the
Annenberg Foundation, a leading supporter of
nonprofits worldwide. The Heroes will participate
in a customized version of the Annenberg
Alchemy program, which offers practical
guidance to help strengthen organizations for
long-term success.
Here are the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013, in
alphabetical order:
Dale Beatty: Making life easier for disabled
veterans After Dale Beatty lost his legs in the Iraq
war, his community thanked him for his service
by helping him build a home. To pay it forward,
Beatty co-founded Purple Heart Homes, which
has helped build or modify homes for dozens of
disabled U.S. veterans. "We wouldn't leave
someone behind on the battlefield," Beatty said.
"Why would we do it at home?" Read Beatty's
story
Georges Bwelle: Bringing health care to the
jungle For decades, Georges Bwelle watched his
father suffer, unable to get the medical attention
he needed. Now a doctor, Bwelle travels into the
jungles of his native Cameroon nearly every
weekend, providing free medical care for those
who don't have access to good health care. "To
make people laugh, to reduce the pain, that's why
I'm doing this," he said. Read Bwelle's story
Robin Emmons: Creating an oasis in a 'food
desert' More than 72,000 people in Charlotte,
North Carolina, lack access to fresh produce.
When Robin Emmons discovered this problem,
she took action. "I decided to rip up my whole
backyard and make it all a garden for people in
need," she said. Since 2008, Emmons has grown
more than 26,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables
for area residents. Read Emmons' story
Danielle Gletow: Granting wishes for foster kids
Foster children don't often get the things other
children do, but Danielle Gletow is trying to help
change that. She posts their wishes online so the
public can help grant them. "I'm here to be the
mom to all these kids who might not feel like they
have one," she said. Since 2008, her group has
helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.
Read Gletow's story
Tawanda Jones: Giving kids a way off deadly
streets Tawanda Jones is using dance to empower
the youth of Camden, New Jersey, one of the
poorest cities in the country. Through Jones' drill
team program, at least 4,000 children have
learned discipline, respect and community service
-- and all of them have graduated high school.
"We need to take back our city and, most
importantly, take back our youth," Jones said.
Read Jones' story
Richard Nares: Helping sick kids get to chemo
For many children fighting cancer, it can be
extremely tough to make it to their chemotherapy
appointments. But Richard Nares started a group
that gives them transportation and support. "No
child should miss their cancer treatment due to
lack of transportation," said Nares, who lost his
son to leukemia in 2000. Read Nares' story
Kakenya Ntaiya: Educating girls for the first time
Kakenya Ntaiya is inspiring change in her native
Kenyan village. After becoming the first woman
in the village to attend college in the United
States, she returned to open the village's first
primary school for girls. "Our work is about
empowering the girls," Ntaiya said. "They are
dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers,
doctors." Read Ntaiya's story
Chad Pregracke: Cleaning up American rivers
Chad Pregracke has made it his life's work to
clean up the Mississippi River and other American
waterways. Since 1998, about 70,000 volunteers
have helped Pregracke remove more than 7
million pounds of garbage from 22 rivers across
the country. "Picking up garbage, it's tough,
miserable and hot," Pregracke said. "We try to
make it fun." Read Pregracke's story
Estella Pyfrom: Bringing computers to kids in
need Estella Pyfrom used her life savings to create
"Estella's Brilliant Bus," a mobile computer lab
that provides tutoring for thousands of low-
income students in Palm Beach County, Florida.
"It's not just a bus, it's a movement," Pyfrom said.
"And we're going to keep making a difference."
Read Pyfrom's story
Laura Stachel: Lighting the way for safe
childbirths Laura Stachel created a special "solar
suitcase" to help health care workers deliver
babies in more than 20 developing countries. "I
really want a world where women can deliver
babies safely and with dignity," Stachel said.
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