Houston celebrities raise over $50k in friendly competition for Houston charities
Because the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed fundraising for so many organizations over the past year, which has limited the number of people they can help, four Houston celebrities recently teamed up in a friendly competition to raise money for four of Houston’s most prominent charities and had some fun while doing it.
This past Saturday, April 24th, Houston Texans’ Justin Ried (Kids Meals Houston) and Whitney Mercilus (WithMerci Foundation), along with former Houston Texan Chester Pitts (Carson Parke) and celebrity deejay, DJ Big Reeks (Mission of Yahweh) raised just over $52K for Houston charities at the “It’s the Ultimate Most Dopest Dodgeball Charity Challenge” hosted by former MLS player and Houston’s own, Brian Ching held at Pitch 25 in Houston.
Houston Texan Whitney Mercilus represented the WithMerci Foundation, which provides advocate services and support to families of children with disabilities and special needs. Houston Texan Justin Reid represented for Kids Meals Houston, which has been making and delivering free, healthy meals directly to the homes of hungry children since 2006 and is a first-responder to children under age 6 facing debilitating hunger due to extreme poverty. Former Houston Texan Chester Pitts represented for Carson Parke, which provides long-term residential treatment to girls, ages 12 to 17, with serious to severe emotional and behavioral problems from all backgrounds, including low-income families. Lastly, celebrity deejay, DJ Big Reeks, represented for Mission of Yahweh, which is a faith-based shelter that has been empowering, enriching and restoring the lives of homeless women and children and provides outreach services to low-income communities since 1961.
Each captain put together their dopest team of 10 to play for the trophy. Each captain recruited their celebrity friends and charity patrons and after healthy competition, only one team was crowned the Ultimate Most Dopest Dodgeball Champion.
In front of over 350 attendees, Team J. Reid (Kids Meals Houston) took home the trophy!
Other celebrities who joined the cause were Gold Medalist and Olympic star Simone Biles, Houston Texan Jonathan Owens and Houston Texan David Johnson who represented Team J. Reid. NFL Legend and former Houston Texan Andre Johnson, along with former Houston Texans Travis Johnson, Cecil Shorts III and J.J. Moses joined the competition with their former teammate Chester Pitts. Entertainer Paul Wall and reality television star from OWN’s Ready to Love, Christian Pope, joined forces with celebrity deejay, DJ Big Reeks. Actor and comedian Jeff Shelley, and the Houston Texans’ Jon Weeks, Ka’imi Fairbairn and Jacob Martin joined their teammate Houston Texan Whitney Mercilus.
Each team was supported by local Houston companies, such as: Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) who supported Team J. Reid (Kids Meals Houston); Superior Plumbing Solutions who supported Team CPII (Carson Parke); The Hotaling Insurance Services who supported Team Whit (The WithMerci Foundation); the breakfast klub and Reggae Hut who supported Team Reeks (The Mission of Yahweh).
Photos by: Caroline Hall
