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Former NFL star Warrick Dunn grants homes to single mothers in need — he just gave his 173rd

Posted on November 15, 2019 By admin No Comments on Former NFL star Warrick Dunn grants homes to single mothers in need — he just gave his 173rd
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It’s always nice to see athletes use their success to give back to their communities, becoming heroes in real life as much as they are on the field.

Their charitable work can really make a big difference in the lives of people in need… like one woman, who recently became one of the nearly 200 people helped out by a former NFL star Warrick Dunn.

Dunn played in the NFL for 12 seasons as a running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons. At the same time, Dunn was on a personal mission to make the world a better place, in honor of someone very special to him.

As voted on by our @TBBuccaneers followers on Twitter, this week's #TBT photo gallery features former #Bucs RB Warrick Dunn: http://bccn.rs/2d5

Gepostet von Tampa Bay Buccaneers am Donnerstag, 10. April 2014

Dunn’s mother Betty Smothers, a corporal in the Baton Rouge Police Department, was fatally shot working a security guard job in 1993.

Dunn was a high school senior who had just turned 18, but was thrust into a role of responsibility for his five orphaned siblings.

“You have no choice but to mature,” he told People. “It wasn’t just about going to school and playing football anymore. My life became about five people.”

But Dunn was able to pursue his football dreams, playing college football and later signed by the Buccaneers. When he moved to Tampa, he brought his siblings to live with him.

Having achieved his dreams, he wanted to give back somehow. He thought about his mother, his siblings, and their upbringing in Baton Rouge: “We lived everywhere in Baton Rouge that you could possibly live,” Dunn recalled. “The only dream my mother had was owning her own home.”

View this post on Instagram

Happy Birthday, Ms. Betty Smothers! Your dream continues to be a blessing to so many families through our Homes for the Holidays program. If you wish to make a donation in honor of MS. Betty's legacy, please visit our website www.wdc.org/donate. #happybirthday #legacy

A post shared by Warrick Dunn Charities (@wdcharities) on Jul 16, 2019 at 8:54am PDT

So in 1997, he began teaming up with Habitat for Humanity to help grant homes to single mothers through his “Home for the Holidays” program. Every year Warrick Dunn Charities helps several struggling mothers with home down payments and furnishings.

View this post on Instagram

Homes for the Holidays is all about turning a house into a home for hardworking families! Thanks to our friends @aaronsinc for helping us get the job done! #Swipeleft • • • • • #warrickdunncharities #warrickdunn #givingback #aaronsgives #partnership

A post shared by Warrick Dunn Charities (@wdcharities) on Jun 28, 2018 at 7:48am PDT

“Our focus is on providing a hand-up – not a handout – to single parents and their children,” their site reads.

The program has been a dream come true for Dunn: “You see the joy, you see the kids’ faces,” Dunn told People. “You see ultimately everything my mom wanted in those guys.”

View this post on Instagram

WDC is excited to welcome recipient #167, Sade of Milwaukee, WI and her three sons, to the Homes for the Holidays family! Special thanks to @milwaukeehabitat, Keller Williams North Shore, and @coldersfurniture for your partnership and generosity! #warrickdunn #nfl #givingback #philanthropy #changinglives

A post shared by Warrick Dunn Charities (@wdcharities) on Dec 19, 2018 at 9:45am PST

The program has been going strong for over two decades, and Dunn granted his 173rd home last month.

Like Dunn’s mother, LaToya Reedy always dreamed of owning a home for herself and her 18-year-old son AnTrez. “I got tired of paying the high rent,” she told the Tampa Bay Times. “And with renting it goes up every month.”

But thanks to WDC, Reedy was finally able to get the home she always wanted. Habitat for Humanity built a 2,000 square foot home and businesses donated money for furniture and appliances.

It was more than Reedy ever imagined: “Oh my God this is beautiful,” she said, according to Tampa Bay Times. “I love it. This is everything.”

View this post on Instagram

WDC is happy to welcome recipient #173, Miss LaToya of St. Petersburg, FL, and her son AnTrez, to the Homes for the Holidays family! Special thanks to our generous sponsors @thejume, @cignatogether, & @aaronsinc as well as @habitatpinellaspasco for another great partnership! #WarrickDunn #NFL #GivingBack #Philanthropy #ChangingLives

A post shared by Warrick Dunn Charities (@wdcharities) on Oct 15, 2019 at 8:47am PDT

The new home would make a huge difference in her and her family’s lives: “I can be at peace,” she said. “I can bring sweet memories to my house and I can have my family and my friends over. I have a home now, and that’s something that I’ve always wanted for my son, and for myself.”

“It’s been a long, hard journey… Struggle and sacrifices, but we made it.”

In addition to the new home being fully stocked and furnished, Dunn himself makes one very special contribution to every home he helps make: he leaves an apple pie, a favorite dish of his mother’s.

“I’ve used this program as therapy,” Dunn said. “Every time I hand over those keys there’s a little piece of my mom and the things she wanted.”

View this post on Instagram

Join us in wishing our Founder, Warrick Dunn, a very special HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

A post shared by Warrick Dunn Charities (@wdcharities) on Jan 5, 2015 at 3:19pm PST

Thank you, Warrick Dunn, for your great life-changing work all these years! We know your mother is proud. Keep up the great work!

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The post Former NFL star Warrick Dunn grants homes to single mothers in need — he just gave his 173rd appeared first on Newsner English.



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