On a cloudy day, Bernard Reedy is heading to his afternoon job.
He works for Care Ride, which is a wheelchair and ambulatory transportation service in the Bay Area.
"I call it like Care Ride Uber," said Reedy with a smile as he drove Tim around.
Tim was Reedy's one and only client on this particular day. He needed a ride from his job at Goodwill to his house. Tim is wheelchair bound.
"By the time I get ready in the morning, I have pretty much had a workout myself," said Tim. "It gets tough sometimes. Sometimes you just don't want to go."
Reedy has been doing this job for more than a year now. It all started when the 25-year-old lost his job in 2015. That job was being a wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.
"I was unemployed for maybe 3 or 4 months and all the money in my savings was slowly creeping down so I was like I need to work. So I came out and filled out an application," said Reedy.
Well he got the job helping others who can't help themselves in his hometown of St. Petersburg.
Then, something really awesome happened. He got picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers doing what he loves, playing football. That didn't stop him from continuing to work for Care Ride though.
"I'm just blessed," said Reedy. "This kept me above water when I was unemployed,so I felt like, why would I stop when I get a job again."
He says he starts his days around 5:00 in the morning and heads to practice. Is at the Buccaneers training facility until around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon and then he makes his way to Care Ride.
As for the people Reedy is helping... how do they feel about a professional football player driving them around town? Most of them don't even know what Reedy was up to before he comes to pick them up. He likes to keep that part under wraps most of the time.
"At the end of the day, it's not about yourself. The man upstairs has blessed me. He has shown me my purpose in life," said Reedy.
So, Reedy says he will keep his $11/hour job during the offseason, because he likes it and he likes the people, despite his busy schedule. He says after Care Ride, he heads home, studies plays, walks the dog, showers and does it over again Monday through Thursday.
