From the KIPP LA E-Newsletter March 2009

When former Tampa Bay running back Warrick Dunn told KIPP Academy of Opportunity students that his mother was a police officer who was shot and killed in the line when he was 18 years old, the entire student body of KAO sat hushed, awed by his calm in the face of pain. When given the opportunity to ask questions, they could hardly contain their curiosity: How did you stay so calm when it happened? How did you take care of your five younger siblings? How did you still go away to college? they asked. "Even though you have tragedy in your life, you can get through," Mr. Dunn told students at a "Team & Family" assembly last Wednesday. "I took a tragedy and used it to bless so many people," he explained, referring to the philanthropic work he has done in his mother's memory. An NFL player for past 12 years, Mr. Dunn is also a dedicated philanthropist: he co-founded Athletes for Hope, an organization that helps athletes get involved in philanthropy. He is also the founder of the Warrick Dunn Foundation and the Homes for the Holidays program, which helps struggling single parents purchase homes.