RB Warrick Dunn takes time out from his football work each holiday season to bring hope to single-parent families
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn will hold a news conference on Tuesday, November 23 in Baton Rouge, Lousiana to announce his 1999 "Homes for the Holidays" initiative, a program he established in 1997 that has since helped 11 disadvantaged families become first-time home-owners. At the news conference, Dunn will present house keys to the first of three Baton Rouge single mothers who will be purchasing their first new home in conjunction with Homes for the Holidays.
This marks Dunn's second year implementing the Homes for the Holidays program in Baton Rouge, his hometown. Dunn helped four Tampa families achieve their dream of home ownership during the program's first year, then expanded the effort in 1998 to assist four Tampa families and three from Baton Rouge. Dunn will carry out the program in Tampa on December 21.
Through Homes for the Holidays, Dunn makes the down payments on new houses, then works with local businesses to fill each home with necessities such as furniture for every room, washers and dryers, linens, lawn and gardening equipment, lamps and kitchen appliances. Additionally, Dunn stocks each kitchen with food, including a turkey and all the trimmings for a Thanksgiving dinner.
A representative from the Baton Rouge Mayor Tom Ed McHugh's office will join Dunn in presenting house keys to new homeowners.
