On January 7, 1993, just two days after turning 18, Warrick Dunn lost his mother, Betty Smothers. She was a Baton Rouge police officer who was working an off-duty security job when she was killed in an ambush while escorting a store manager to make a bank deposit. Warrick was the oldest of six children. After his mother’s demise, he suddenly had to take on a much bigger role at home. He became the head of the household and used his mother’s life insurance money to buy a home for his younger siblings. Despite the tragedy, Dunn continued to work toward his dreams. He played college football at Florida State before reaching the NFL. In 1997, as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he started Homes for the Holidays. The program helped single parents by providing money for home down payments, furniture, and stocked food pantries. Dunn wanted to give families the kind of stability that he had worked so hard to provide for his own family after losing his mother. Snopes previously confirmed that the program had helped 145 families at the time that figure was reported. Since then, the work has continued to grow. Warrick Dunn Charities now says the program has served 252 families as of 2026. Dunn turned a painful loss into a lifelong mission to help other families build stable homes and better lives.

On January 7, 1993, just two days after turning 18, Warrick Dunn lost his mother, Betty Smothers. She was a Baton Rouge police officer who was working an off-duty security job when she was killed in an ambush while escorting a store manager to make a bank deposit. Warrick was the oldest of six children. After his mother’s demise, he suddenly had to take on a much bigger role at home. He became the head of the household and used his mother’s life insurance money to buy a home for his younger siblings. Despite the tragedy, Dunn continued to work toward his dreams. He played college football at Florida State before reaching the NFL. In 1997, as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he started Homes for the Holidays. The program helped single parents by providing money for home down payments, furniture, and stocked food pantries. Dunn wanted to give families the kind of stability that he had worked so hard to provide for his own family after losing his mother. Snopes previously confirmed that the program had helped 145 families at the time that figure was reported. Since then, the work has continued to grow. Warrick Dunn Charities now says the program has served 252 families as of 2026. Dunn turned a painful loss into a lifelong mission to help other families build stable homes and better lives.