PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2018-09-11 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Has Warrick Dunn Built More Than 145 Homes for Single Parents? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • Warrick Dunnm who played 12 seasons in the NFL as a running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons, has been supporting single-parent families since his 1997 rookie season, when he started the Homes for the Holidays program to provide economically-disadvantaged single parents and their children with comprehensive programming for first-time homeownership. In September 2018, the former NFL player's charitable efforts, as well as a few facts about his upbringing and the death of his mother, were boiled down into a meme spread via social media: This meme, for the most part, provided accurate information about Warrick Dunn and his charitable efforts. Dunn's mother, Betty Dunn Smothers, was a police officer in Baton Rouge who was killed in 1993 while working a second job as a security guard: Smothers' passing came just a few days before Dunn's 18th birthday and a month before he committed to playing college football at Florida State University (FSU). He was the eldest of Smothers' children, and by most accounts he assumed a father-figure role in the life of his five younger siblings. Here's how the Los Angeles Times described Dunn and his siblings in a December 1994 article headlined Turning His Grief to Good: Florida State Running Back Warrick Dunn Sets an Example for All: Dunn graduated from FSU and was selected in the first round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie running back was challenged by head coach Tony Dungy to give back to the community during his time in Florida, and so Dunn decided to start the Homes for the Holidays program in order to help provide homes to single-parent families in honor of his late mother. The program managed to house three families during its first year. By 2018, that number had grown to 159: Our only quibble with this meme is the statement that Dunn built and paid for over 145 houses for single mothers. While the former NFL quarterback has certainly donated plenty of time, money, and effort into his charitable endeavors, he did not single-handedly build and pay for all these homes. Dunn's non-profit, Warrick Dunn Charities, partners with other non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity to build homes for disadvantaged families: Dunn's charity provides a down payment for the home, completely furnishes it, and provides other services such as financial literacy program in order to assist single parents as they become first time homeowners: This meme's popularity in September 2018 was likely connected to a controversy surrounding another former NFL player: Colin Kaepernick. A number of social media users shared this meme along with messages stating that Nike should have used Dunn, not Kaepernick, in their latest commercial: This meme misleadingly suggests that Colin Kaepernick has not similarly sacrificed by using his own money for charitable endeavors. However, in January 2018 Kaepernick completed his pledge to donate a total of $1 million to charity over eighteen months, with a list of all the organizations he donated to viewable here. And Dunn himself praised Nike's latest advertising campaign for raising Kaepernick's profile as the latter drove the conversation about social justice: (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url