Warrick Dunn has long been a great NFL player and teammate, but many people don’t know about the great work he does outside the white lines. Dunn has been rewarded with his efforts off the field with the NFL’s 2005 Man of the Year award. He is more focused on his foundation and volunteer efforts than accolades however. The Warrick Dunn Foundation was established in 1997 after he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dunn grew up with a single mother, who devoted herself to supporting the family and being a police officer. He was the oldest child and was thrust into a role of great responsibility when his mother was killed in the line of duty for the police force. Even with her countless hours of work, Warrick’s mother was never capable of living the American dream and owning her own home. Dunn made it a goal of his foundation to help single mothers who were working to support their families buy and own a home.
The program itself is called “Home for the Holidays” and provides single mothers and their children with the down payment for a house, enabling them to enjoy home ownership for the first time. The house is then stocked with everything you would need to take care of the house: kitchen supplies, lawn mower, appliances, etc. The program looks for single mothers who are employed and doing everything they can to raise their children without assistance, like his own mother. They will be able to pay the mortgage once they are in the house, but will not be able to afford a down payment without the foundation’s help.
To date, the Warrick Dunn Foundation’s “Home for the Holidays” program has assisted 60 single mothers and over 140 children to purchase and own a house. The Foundation focuses on the Atlanta, Georgia, Tampa, Florida and Baton Rouge, Louisiana areas. Dunn is thought of with the highest regard in the football community. Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Dunn is “a winner in the Super Bowl of life.” Blank thinks the world of his running back, “Warrick holds himself to a higher standard. He’s not about flash, he’s about quiet dignity. … Every sports team, every professional sports player should take a page from Warrick’s book of life.” Dunn cites Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and his coach in Tampa Bay, Tony Dungy, as guiding lights in being active in the community. The women and children Dunn has helped serve as an inspiration for him to further the foundation’s work and continue helping those who need it.
