NFL Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl veteran Chris Hope and his NFL friends are slated to return to Rock Hill, SC for Hope’s 3rd Annual iCHOPE Celebrity Basketball Game. The game will be hosted at Hope’s alma mater Rock Hill High School in Rock Hill, SC on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 6:30 p.m., and will feature a strong lineup of NFL stars, many of whom hail from the Rock Hill area.  Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Pilgrims’ Inn, a Rock Hill organization that provides temporary to permanent housing, transitional housing, emergency shelter services, a food bank, child care, GED classes and counseling.

Scheduled players include Carolina Panthers receiver and All Pro Steve Smith, Houston Texans cornerback and Rock Hill native Johnathan Joseph, Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, St. Louis Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan, Green Bay Packers receiver and Rock Hill High graduate Tori Gurley, former Pro Bowl cornerback Dre Bly and safety Deon Grant of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. In addition, former South Pointe High School and University of South Carolina stars Jadaveon Clowney and Stephon Gilmore will appear.

Previous events drew close to 4,000 attendees from South and North Carolina. Ticket information will be available on www.ichope24.com.

“Our area has been hit with a lot this year, from tornados to personal tragedies within families, which have caused us to all rally as a community,” said Hope. “This year, it is all about ‘Community Helping Community.’ We want to build on the roots you find in a small town, where everyone is family and everyone helps each other out.”

In addition to the game, Hope’s NFL friends will join in “A Day of Hope” service project at Pilgrims’ Inn, focusing on refurbishing the interior and exterior of the facility. “We are thrilled Chris chose to work with us this year,” said Pilgrims’ Inn Director Susan Dean. “Both he and his wife Linda were very sincere in our initial meetings and toured our entire facility, meeting our staff and listening to the stories of our residents.”

Traditionally, members of the community identify possible recipients, whom Hope meets with personally to hear their story. “I believe that everyone has a story,” says Hope. “It is important to me to connect to the recipient on a personal level, to know their experience and to let them know that I care and that their community cares. We chose Pilgrims’ Inn because they will be able to have a broader impact on more families in the community.”