Gift To Warrick Dunn Charities To Provide Homes For 100 Families

TAMPA, FL — Warrick Dunn Charities Inc. has received a multi-million dollar gift that will make 100 families across the United States first-time homeowners.

The donation from Baton Rouge entrepreneur Ryan D. “Jume” Jumonville is the largest gift in the 22-year history of the nonprofit. To date, WDC has provided 170 families with a first-time, permanent homes.

“This gift is transformational,” said the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back. “The generosity shown will not only impact the families that move into these homes, but their future generations. But more than that, it demonstrates how businesses can change and improve the conditions of a community.”

Dunn’s Homes for the Holidays program, established in 1997, was inspired by the tragic death of his mother, Betty Smothers, a Louisiana police officer killed by armed robbers during an extra-duty security job. After the death of his mother, Dunn became the main provider for his five younger siblings. He went on to become a celebrated running back in the NFL and is today a minority stakeholder in the Atlanta Falcons organization.

Dunn and Jumonville initially became friends while playing football together at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge in the early 1990s.

“I’ve supported Warrick’s charitable efforts for many years now and have witnessed the great impact he is making in the lives of these families,” Jumonville said, founder of United Networks of America, a nationwide medical discount card network. “It is an honor to team up with Warrick to move these deserving mothers and their children out of poverty and into a stable home life.”

Homes for the Holidays currently operates in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Jacksonville, Tampa/St. Pete, Tallahassee, New Orleans, Dallas/Houston, Nashville, Newark, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Augusta and Detroit. The gift from Jumonville will allow more families to gain entry to their own homes and expand the program to previously unserved communities.