Super Bowl Champion and Baltimore Raven, Ray Rice stepped through the golden doors of City Hall to a sea of cheering fans in his hometown of New Rochelle today to celebrate his NFL victory in New Orleans. This past December, Ray took time out of his busy schedule to reach out to a young fan with a phone call that completely turned this young fan’s life around. Odell Alexander, (known to friends as O’D) is a foster child who’s biggest passion in life, is football. A running back with the Port Chester Rams, O’D was struggling due to set backs in his life back in August this year and desperately needed a source of inspiration to carry on. Ray Rice brought hope beyond O’D’s wildest dreams and answered that call.
Today as the crowds thinned out and Ray Rice entered the foyer of City Hall, O’D along with case worker Leslie Farucci were presented with the opportunity of a lifetime where O’D got to meet and shake the hand of his all time biggest football star and now Super Bowl Champion, Ray Rice. To say this is a moment that will never be forgotten would be an understatement.
Photo credit Jen Parente