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'This Is A Blessing For Me And The Kids'

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By GEOFF FOX and LISA A. DAVIS

gfox@tampatrib.com ldavis@tampatrib.com

Published: December 10, 2008

DADE CITY - Robin Knight shrieked when she saw Warrick Dunn.

She howled again Tuesday afternoon when she stepped inside the new five-bedroom home presented to her by the Warrick Dunn Foundation and East Pasco Habitat for Humanity.

Inside the front door of the house on Main Avenue, Knight, a single mother of six, doubled over with emotion.

"This is too much for me to handle," she said between her fingers, which covered a shocked expression.

"Look!" her 7-year-old daughter, Kavbion, said in the living room. "We have Christmas stockings!"

Knight was one of two Pasco County mothers presented with keys to a new house Tuesday through Dunn's Home For the Holidays program and Habitat For Humanity.

Before noon, Sarah Cooke, a mother of two, thought she was going to be doing a walk-through of her new Habitat for Humanity home until she was driven up the driveway.

"It's a very good surprise. Thank you," said the 35-year-old home health care nurse. "I'm shaking."

Since 1997, Dunn has helped provide down-payment assistance to more than 80 economically disadvantaged, single-parent families. The foundation, through its title sponsor, Prudential Tropical Realty, and its in-kind sponsor, Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership, also provides furniture, kitchen appliances, dishes and more.

Recipients are qualified through affordable homeownership nonprofit programs and must meet eligibility requirements.

Cooke, her son Devin, 15, and daughter Lauren, 10, were greeted outside the Marley Avenue home in west Pasco by Dunn and a throng of media, Habitat For Humanity volunteers and local dignitaries.

An eighth-grade dropout, Cooke became a licensed practical nurse after getting her GED, putting herself through school and raising her two children after a divorce, according to her mother. She hopes to get her degree and become a registered nurse.

Once her son realized who Dunn was, he seemed embarrassed by his attire: a replica jersey of New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker.

"I didn't know this was going on or I wouldn't have worn it," he said.

A moment later, he was listening to orders from mom.

"Take that off," she said.

He obeyed, revealing a white T-shirt.

Dunn took the Patriots jersey and pretended to throw it on the ground before politely asking someone to put it elsewhere.

"He's gonna get a Bucs shirt," Dunn said. "You don't have to worry about that."

The foundation's work is true to Dunn's heart.

In Dade City, he said his mother died before she was able to buy her own home.

"I'm blessed to play the game of football," he said. "I've been put in a position where I can help people realize their dreams."

Her children by her side, Knight, who works at a nearby Sweetbay Supermarket, could barely complete a sentence without bursting into tears.

"I just have to say thank you to everybody," she said, sobbing with glee. "This is a blessing for me and the kids."

Meanwhile, her children were itching to see the interior.

"Come on," daughter, Allahon, 13, said anxiously. "Let's open the door."

Inside, the kitchen shelves and refrigerator were stocked with food.

There was a new Sylvania television and Dell computer, new appliances, new furniture. On a nightstand in the master bedroom was a hardcover copy of Dunn's book, "Running For My Life."

Outside, the yard was neatly landscaped.

Knight's son, Lenwood, 16, walked wide-eyed through the spacious home, smiling wide.

"I'm not going anywhere on the weekend," he said.

Keyword: Home for the Holidays for more photos. Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613. Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

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