Former pro-football player Warrick Dunn began helping single parents find affordable housing in 1997 through his charity Warrick Dunn Charities. Recently, Dunn reported that he had just given away his 145th home.
“For me, it’s all about when the family walks through, it’s all about them,” Dunn said.Dunn doesn’t just want to give the families a new home, he wants to give them a fully-furnished home (stocked with food and other necessary supplies). A $5,000 down payment is also put down on the house to give the family a financial head start.
He started his philanthropic work with Homes for the Holidays—a service aimed at finding housing for struggling single-parent families in time for Christmas. He decided after that he wanted to start his own work.
Dunn dedicates all of his work to his late mother, Betty Smothers. In 1993, while working as a police officer in Baton Rogue, Smothers was killed during an armed robbery attempt.
Dunn received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2005, the 2010 Heisman Humanitarian Award, the 2011 Jefferson Humanitarian Award for Public Service, along with many others.
He is also committed to helping foster a love for helping in others. In 2007, Warrick teamed up with athletes such as Andre Agassi, Muhammed Ali, Lance Armstrong, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken, Jr. and founded Athletes for Hope, a non-profit organization which helps professional athletes and the community develop their passion for philanthropy.
