Home for the Holidays
Kurt Warner’s First Things First Foundation Teams with Habitat
Just imagine going to your new home expecting to spend some quiet time savoring the memories that have made it possible for you to be in a home of your own. The weeks of sweat from you, your family, friends and volunteers and the contributions of many sponsors have taken the shape of the walls you and your family will now call “home.” You look around at the empty rooms and bare walls and prepare a checklist of things you still need to make it functional, as well as the dream list of things for which you want to save.
Now imagine your intrigue when you drive up to your house only to find cars up and down the street and your front yard full of TV cameras, the Habitat staff, community dignitaries, and even Kurt and Brenda Warner and their pastors. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, you open the door, excited by the prospect of taking such an illustrious entourage through your new house. But the surprise is on you when you open the door to find your home not empty but full of new furniture, appliances and household items – even down to new silverware!
Such was the experience of Jeanette C. and Erma W. and their families on Dec. 17 when they found out they were the recipients of a special gift to new Habitat homeowners from Kurt Warner’s First Things First Foundation. One of the foundation’s main projects is “Homes for the Holidays” – a program initiated in St. Louis to assist low-income, single-mother families in their journey of becoming first-time homeowners. Through the program, First Things First provides financial support by partnering with a single mother and an affordable homeownership program, such as Habitat for Humanity St. Louis. Partner agencies “nominate” eligible families to be the recipients of this program, and the foundation selects two. In addition to financial assistance, First Things First partners with companies to fill the houses with everything a first-time homeowner would need including furniture for every room, washers and dryers, linens, kitchen appliances and dishes, lawn and garden equipment, and home décor items. Homes for the Holidays’ affordable homeownership partners include Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, Neighborhood Housing Services, Beyond Housing and the Catholic Commission on Housing.
Home for the Holidays was started by NFL running back Warrick Dunn in 1997. The Warners joined Dunn’s team in 2002 by initiating Home for the Holidays to bless single mothers and their families in the St. Louis area. Jason Sehorn of the New York Giants is also a member of the Homes for the Holidays’ team.
"We started our lives together in poverty and have walked in these women's footsteps struggling to provide for our children," said Warner. "We remember the sense of accomplishment it was for us when we bought our first home," added Kurt. "We wanted to be part of a program that rewards people for working hard to help themselves."
The First Things First Foundation wishes to thank the following corporations for their assistance with Homes for the Holidays:
Wal-Mart
Home Depot
Cohen’s Appliances
Carol House Furniture
Best Buy
U-Haul
Habitat for Humanity St. Louis wishes to thank the Warner’s as well as the First Things First Foundation for their partnership.
Visit www.kurtwarner.org for more information about the First Things First Foundation or for a related story visit http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/1102/27momhomes.html. You may also visit www.habitatstl.org for the online version of this article with more pictures, quotes and web links!
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