about warrick dunn

As the oldest of six, Warrick grew up watching his mother, Betty Smothers, provide for him and his five siblings. As a single mother she worked endless hours as a Baton Rouge police officer and several off-duty jobs to make ends meet. During Warrick’s senior year at Catholic high school, his mother’s life was taken in the line of duty, leaving him the responsibility of keeping the family together. Although she worked hard all of her life, Betty was never able to realize the American dream of owning her own home.

After being drafted to the NFL by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997, Warrick established a program called “Homes for the Holidays” in an effort to keep his mother’s dream of homeownership alive for other single parents working hard to provide for their families.

“Homes for the Holidays” assists single parents in owning their first home by providing the down payment on a house and then filling the house with everything a first-time homeowner would need, including: furniture, food, linens, lawn mower, gardening supplies, washer, dryer, dishes, pots and pans, etc. This program is the primary focus of the Warrick Dunn Foundation and to date has assisted 83 single parents and more then 221 dependents in Atlanta, GA, Baton Rouge, LA, Tampa and Tallahassee, FL.

After five years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Warrick joined the Atlanta Falcons in March of 2002 and established the Warrick Dunn Foundation in an effort to expand the “Homes for the Holidays” program.

In 2008, Warrick signed with the Buccaneers and is once again wearing number 28 in Tampa Bay. 

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