PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Home Sweet Home.
That phrase has never meant more to Amanda Pedigo and her family than now.
For the first time in her life, this single mom is a home owner. And she can thank Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warrick Dunn for making that dream come true.
“When they actually see that this is for them, this is their furniture, this is their home, this is their environment, for me, that’s life changing,” Dunn said.
Dunn’s changed a lot of lives. A program he started to honor his mom Betty, a single mother and police officer killed in the line of duty, continues to grow.
Dunn partners with Habitat for Humanity and Aaron’s to provide the ultimate home experience. He pays the down payment for the interest free mortgage and Aaron’s furnishes all the rooms.
“Just gratefulness,” Pedigo said. “I wasn’t expecting this. I knew they said a little surprise. This is like far from little. This is amazing.”
“I just started to really understand more about issues that families deal with,” Dunn said. “And really, going back and reliving the things that I grew up with, the struggles that we had as a family. And now, it’s just culminated. We’re just trying to bring it all together.”
This was Dunn’s 190th home. The 190th time he made a dream come true for a single mom. And just like he always thought about that next yard on the football field, he’s already about the next house.
“For me, home one to 190, it’s a lot of growth, maturity, and really understanding the issues people deal with in society,” Dunn said. “We’ve just grown and gotten more engaged.
"And just try to have a bigger impact in someone’s life.”