Warrick Dunn Nominated for Neighborhood MVP

Act now: Your vote for Warrick Dunn is a vote for FSU!

When Warrick Dunn played at FSU, he was always an MVP. He’s the MVP for mothers and children who have benefited from his humanitarian foundation. Now he’s hoping FSU fans and friends will help him win another MVP title.

Home Depot and the NFL are naming their Neighborhood MVP of the Year, and Dunn is in the running. FSU fans and alumni can help him win the title by voting on line http://shopandwin.homedepot.com/neighborhood.asp or through the Warrick Dunn Foundation’s home page: www.warrickdunnfoundation.org.

The award recognizes NFL players who are making a positive impact in their communities through charitable programs and contributions. It also directs attention to their alma maters.

The winner will be determined by a combination of online fan support and a panel of judges. The program will reward winners with a football field refurbishment or a playground built in their honor and a donation to the charity of their choice.

Voting is not limited and will remain open through the end of the year, so friends and fans can vote as often as possible. Please forward this link in an effort to help Warrick Dunn win and help his Foundation continue its work to support single-parent families.

Dunn, a running back with the Atlanta Falcons, established the Warrick Dunn Foundation in 2002 in an effort to expand the "Homes for the Holidays" program that he started after being drafted to the National Football League by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997. "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, from linens to a lawnmower.

The program is a way to honor Dunn's own mother, a single mother of six children and a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Although she worked hard all of her life, she was never able to buy her own home.

Dunn has attributed his humanitarian service to his FSU education. "It is really an honor to be in a position to help others achieve a dream I had as long as I can remember," Dunn says. "Having a home was my mother's dream, too. Using my FSU education, we have been able to reach further than I could have ever imagined 'Homes for the Holidays' is making a tangible difference in the lives of moms and children who now own a piece of the American Dream for themselves."

The “Homes for the Holidays” program currently exists in Atlanta, Tampa, Baton Rouge and Tallahassee.

In 2004 Dunn was awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, named after the legendary Chicago bears Hall of Fame running back who died in 1999. This is the highest honor bestowed on an NFL player for outstanding community service and on-field performance.

Warrick Dunn's four-year career at Florida State established him as one of the most popular players in all of college football and the finest running back in the 50-year history of Florida State football. Dunn is the only Seminole to ever rush for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.

The Warrick Dunn Foundation is dedicated to providing opportunities for economically disadvantaged single parents and children who have demonstrated a commitment to achieve financial independence and stability.