Atlanta Falcon Warrick Dunn’s ‘Homes
for the Holidays'Initiative Teams With Clearwater NHS in
Florida
December 9, 2003 -- Atlanta Falcons running
back Warrick Dunn kicked off his 2003 "Homes for the Holidays"
initiative on November 18 in Atlanta. Falisha Stewart, Carla Weeden
and Tunya Whitaker all received financial assistance from the
Warrick Dunn Foundation to realize their dreams of becoming first-time
homeowners.
Then last week, Tatishka Thomas, 26, of Clearwater, Florida,
and her two children, Armoni Clarit, 7, and Keanan Musgrove, 3,
became the latest beneficiaries of Dunn’s down payment and
home furnishing program. Thomas didn't know about Dunn's gift
until she arrived at the home she was purchasing, a 1,276-square-foot
home priced at $109,000.
Isay Gulley, president of Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services,
nominated Thomas for the program without her knowledge, after
the NHS, a NeighborWorks organization, prepared Thomas for homeownership.
Thomas fit the criteria: a single mother who was going to be closing
on a home in December.
The St. Petersburg Times reported that when Thomas pulled up
to the new three-bedroom home on Beckett Street, she found an
unexpected crowd standing on the lawn and a red ribbon across
the front door. Her pastor blessed the house.
"It's all yours," said Tampa Bay Bucs player Aaron
Stecker who presented the home on behalf of Dunn, who was recovering
from a recent surgery. "Can I show you around? You deserve
it. We'll start in the kitchen." The house was stocked with
furnishings, such as furniture, linens, lawn and gardening supplies,
washer, dryer, food, pots and pans, and dishes.
"I have no words right now," Thomas said. "I'm
still in shock. This is going to be the best Christmas ever. I
thank God for this. If it wasn't for God I wouldn't have anything."
The Warrick Dunn Foundation helps single mothers become first-time
homeowners by making the down payments on new homes. Each mother
involved in the program has worked hard to reach the dream of
providing a stable environment for her family. To date, the program
has assisted 37 single mothers and touched the lives of 99 children
and dependents in Atlanta, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; and Baton
Rouge, Louisiana.
This marks Dunn’s seventh year implementing the "Homes
for the Holidays" program, which has been in the Tampa area
(where he previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and
Baton Rouge (his hometown). He started the program during his
rookie season in 1997, when he made the down payments on four
houses in Tampa Bay. Warrick’s motivation for the program
stems from the memory of his mother, Betty Smothers, a Baton Rouge
police officer and a single parent. She was killed in the line
of duty in 1993, before she could ever realize her dream of buying
her own home.
For more information about the Warrick Dunn Foundation, visit
http://www.warrickdunnfoundation.org.
For more information, on NeighborWorks network organizations,
visit www.nw.org.
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