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How do you give homework to a student who doesn’t have a home? How do you tell bedtime stories to a child who sleeps on a patch of carpet in a mobile home? How can you show someone a world of opportunity when all he knows is the block of government-owned apartments he’s lived on his whole life?

As an inner-city elementary school teacher, Kristen Dahlquist spends her days with kids like these; kids with single parents who struggle to make ends meet, often working multiple jobs and sacrificing comfort for survival.

It’s difficult to watch, especially since Kristen grew up in a stable home and lived in the same room in the same Sarasota house her entire childhood.

“It’s something you don’t see with my kids. Some of them sleep on the floor,” she says. “They don’t have their own space.”
In those innocent students, victims of circumstance, Kristen sees a little bit of her husband, Steven Bush. He was once in their shoes, watching his single mother work tirelessly to provide for him and his four siblings.

He now runs a successful Apple repair store called Screwbox Solutions , currently in its second year of operation. Once they achieved financial security, the couple decided to begin looking for a charity to donate to.
“We felt like it was time to give back to our community and make that connection instead of looking for the community to support us,” Kristen says.

But these days almost every charity is in desperate need of donations, so finding the right place to donate was a challenge.  That’s when fate stepped in – rather, it walked in the door.

Warrick Dunn came into Steven’s store for a routine fix-up, and the couple was immediately impressed by his character and service to the community. Once they found out exactly what the Warrick Dunn Foundation does, they both identified with its mission to help single-parent families achieve the increasingly challenging dream of homeownership. Kristen’s work as a teacher paired with Steven’s childhood experience made donating to the Foundation an easy choice.

“When Steven met Warrick, he really felt like ‘We gotta be a part of this,’” Kristen said. “It was very personal to him.”
Since Screwbox is a one-man operation, they decided to start small.

“We knew as a small business, we don’t have a lot to donate up front,” Kristen says, “but in time it will add up. I just think that so many people are intimidated and they think, ‘I don’t have a thousand dollars right now.’…But anything helps.”

Even a quarter in a drop box will help, which is why Steven put one in his store for the Warrick Dunn Foundation. It also serves to show the customers exactly where their money is going. Kristen says she has heard the phrase, “A portion of our profits go toward…” so many times, but rarely can the customer see the money physically going to the charity. Every time Steven does a hard drive repair, she says, he puts $10 directly in the drop box and explains what he is doing while his clients watch.

“They actually see the money going in, and they have the ability to donate on their own, and we’ve found that they have been,” Kristen says.

Their generosity has inadvertently helped Screwbox build an image of generosity and responsibility. People are impressed with the owners’ willingness to give a portion of their profits away. Kristen says their donations weren’t intended to be a public relations stunt.
By donating, she says, “we’re not really looking for customers. We’re just looking to support the community.”

Kate Kennedy was an intern with the Foundation during summer 2009. She is entering into her senior year at the University of Florida and is majoring in Journalism and Spanish. Currently, she is studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain.

Original Air Date: 8/7/2009 11:00 AM

Warrick Dunn: Single Parent Hero

Warrick Dunn, raised by a single mom and now plays in the NFL. Perhaps his most important legacy is what his Foundation has focused on for the past 12 years. " As a result of growing up in a single-parent household, I have focused my charitable efforts on helping single parent families obtain first-time homeownership. I believe that homeownership is the foundation for establishing a stable and productive family environment, an environment in which children can thrive educationally, socially and economically." Tune in to find out more!