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Ex-Buc Dunn helps Pasco mom buy a place to call home

Tribune photo by ANDY JONES

Warrick Dunn helps Dakota Palic, 11, use a giant pair of scissors to cut the ribbon in front of her new home while her mom Shawn, sister Shayla, 15, and brother Adam, 1, watch.

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 18, 2009

Updated: 05/18/2009 01:18 pm

DADE CITY - A hard rain was falling Monday morning when Shawn Palic and her three children stepped out of a car and were met by Warrick Dunn.

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back greeted the family with a sunny smile as he walked the 39-year-old single mother to her new home, courtesy of the Warrick Dunn Foundation.

"What do you think?'' Dunn asked Palic as they stood on the doorstep of the four-bedroom taupe house on a tree-lined street.

"I love it,'' she said, dabbing at her eyes while cradling 1-year-old Adam in her arms.

Palic's daughters, Shayla, 15, and Dakota, 11, will also live in the fully furnished residence, marking the 86th time Dunn's Homes for the Holidays program has assisted a single parent by providing the down payment.

"Each time is different, but it never gets old,'' said Dunn, the former Florida State University standout who was released by the Bucs in a February veteran purge following his second stint in Tampa. "To see the tears of joy, that's why we do this. It's great to reward someone who works hard, to be able to bring about a life-changing situation and give the family something to be proud of. Now they have a place to feel safe and secure – a place they can call home.''

Palic and her family had been living in a cramped trailer before being contacted by the Dunn Foundation, which was established in 1997 to honor Dunn's late mother, Betty Smothers, who was a police officer in Baton Rouge, La.

"Home ownership was my mom's goal in life,'' said Dunn. "Unfortunately, she lost her life in the line of duty. Today is another blessing for me to live out my mom's dream. Shawn, I'd like to pass on my mom's dream to you.''

When the front door opened, the Palic family encountered a fully stocked kitchen, a big-screen television, a computer and a towel that read "Shawn's Kitchen'' hanging from the stove.

"This is very special,'' she said. "I never thought I'd own my own home. It's overwhelming. It means we're not cooped up in a little tiny trailer anymore.''

The Warrick Dunn Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Tampa, has assisted 86 single parents and 233 children and dependents.

"We wanted to reach out to Pasco County today,'' said Dunn, whose foundation has also helped families in Tallahassee, Atlanta and Baton Rouge. "We're constantly trying to go into different markets.''

Dunn, 34, said he still isn't sure whether his 12-year NFL career is finished.

"I'm not 24 or 25 anymore, but I feel I can still play the game at a high level,'' Dunn said. "I'm starting to figure out the next phase of my life.''

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