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Super Bowl champ raising money for new church shuttle bus
James Ihedigbo wants to raise enough money to buy the bus before Christmas.
HOUSTON - A former Super Bowl champ is raising money to help a southeast Houston church get a new, shuttle bus. The ROCK Church currently has four shuttle buses that are nearly 15 years old. The buses are used for a variety of reasons including helping victims of abuse get the help they need.
James Ihedigbo launched the fundraising campaign two days ago on his birthday and has already raised more than $25,000. Ihedigbo needs to raise a total of $60,000 to purchase the new bus and personalize it for the church.
Ihedigbo is East Coast born and raised. It’s even where most of his professional career as a safety for various NFL teams took off.
“I played in the NFL for 10 years. I played with the New England Patriots, New York Jets, the Baltimore Ravens who won a Superbowl in 2012; and the Detroit Lions and I also had a short stint with the Buffalo Bills,” said Ihedigbo.
But when it came down to choosing a permanent home, Ihedigbo picked Houston. He retired from the NFL in 2016.
His sister lives here and attends The ROCK (Reflections of Christ’s Kingdom) Church. That’s how Ihedigbo first met Lead Pastor Rachelle Carson and her husband and learned about the church's dire need for a new shuttle.
The church currently has four shuttles they've owned since the early 2000's. Only some are functional, but all consistently have issues that are just too costly to fix.
“They’ve suffered from the hands of time and the conditions are really bad. Opening and shutting the doors, the little mechanism that does that is broken; the emergency exit in the back malfunctions on a regular basis, the air conditioning units are suffering and probably need to be rebuilt. It’s getting to the point where we can’t fulfill some of the ministry obligations,” said Carson.
The buses are designed to serve underprivileged members who may not be able to afford a car or pay for an Uber or Lyft.
As part of a community outreach program, the buses transport college students to local campuses like the University of Houston and Texas Southern University, young children to after school programs like the Boy Scouts and even help victims of domestic violence get to women’s shelters.
“We work with two local shelters: The Bridge and Sarah’s House in Pasadena. We get all these requests from transportation and 10-15 women wanting to come at the same time. It was getting to the point where we had no shuttles to use them,” Carson said.
“When they come into the church environment and their lives might be in what we would think in shambles and distraught, no focus or direction in life. And you see them four or five months later, and it’s almost like you’re looking at a completely different person.
“You’re giving back to helping someone grow and they’re being able to pass that same torch on to the next person. It’s really creating a culture of good hearts,” Ihedigbo said.
As a product of Nigerian immigrants, Ihedigbo said helping others better their lives is a mission he's been committed to his entire life.
“From a young small village in Nigeria to now in the United States, giving back is second nature to us. It’s the way I was raised as a child and I’ve always wanted to be able to continue to hand that to the next person,” said Ihedigbo.
Ihedigbo and his family started an educational foundation in 2007 called Hope Africa. The organization helps overseas students get scholarships and access to a better education in the US. Him and his wife, Brittany, also own and operate three Kiddie Academies in the greater Houston area.
Ihedigbo said his goal is to at least present the new shuttle to the church for Christmas, which is less than three weeks away.
To help donate, click the link and select “Shuttles 2019” under the Fund tab.