Former Northwestern QB spotlights Rock Hill women’s shelter through NFL campaign

Rock Hill native Mason Rudolph, now a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, chose to spotlight a hometown women’s shelter on his cleats as part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign.

The Northwestern High School alumnus said he selected The Life House because of its connection to his home church, Westminster Presbyterian.

“I know some of the people that helped start it back in 2020, and I think sometimes we only think about homelessness in big cities like New York and Los Angeles,” Rudolph explained. “But there is obviously a need in smaller cities like Rock Hill.”

The NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign is a player-led initiative where players, coaches and staff wear custom-designed cleats to spotlight causes that are important to them.

Courtney Denton, executive director of The Life House and director of women’s and mercy ministries at Westminster Presbyterian, said she’s known Rudolph since his childhood.

“He knows that all of life is not about football,” Denton said. “The opportunity for him to leverage his platform in a way that brings glory to God and honors his community is a really special thing. ... We certainly are very grateful to be the recipients of his support.”

Founded in 2020, The Life House aims to provide help and hope to homeless women in need. In five years, it has grown from a single shelter to four outposts across the Rock Hill area while assisting nearly 800 women and children.

“We are working to really bring encouragement and fellowship support around the women and children that we’re helping,” she explained. “We want to offer all the basic needs, but you want them to know those basic needs are packaged in an envelope of love and compassion and care. I think that’s a real special part of who we are at The Life House ... that we are wrapping our arms around these women and children and walking alongside them.”

Rudolph hopes his specialty cleats help raise awareness about The Life House.

“I know there are a lot of charitable people in Rock Hill that love to help those kinds of causes,” he said. “Maybe (after they) see my cleats, it will make them want to help out in some way by donating or volunteering.”

Rudolph says he hopes to auction off his cleats in the coming weeks and donate the proceeds to The Life House.

“All of this is just to try and gain more recognition of the good things they are doing and the people’s lives they are changing,” he said.