HomeNews World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame to Induct Warrick Dunn, Vlade Divac, Jimmie Heuga
World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame to Induct Warrick Dunn, Vlade Divac, Jimmie Heuga
World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame
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BOISE, Idaho – NFL running back Warrick Dunn, international basketball legend Vlade Divac and Olympic skier Jimmie Heuga have been elected as 2008 inductees of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame (www.SportsHumanitarian.com) for their exceptional commitment to community service. The sports humanitarians will be enshrined on June 24 at the Hall’s annual induction ceremonies in Boise, Idaho.
Dunn is being honored for his work in assisting single-parents and their children realize the dream of home ownership through the Warrick Dunn Foundation (www.WarrickDunnFoundation.org). Divac is being honored for his efforts to assist refugees from war-ravaged Yugoslavia through his Humanitarian Organization Divac (www.Divac.com) and Heuga, who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), has revolutionized the way people with MS now live with the disease through the work of the Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis (www.Heuga.org).
“Warrick Dunn, Vlade Divac and Jimmie Heuga stand-out among athletes everywhere as role models to our youth and our leaders,” said Larry Maneely, president of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. “Through their foundations, our class of 2008 has shown how one athlete can make a profound difference in our world. They represent all that is good in sport.”
The Humanitarian Hall of Fame annually inducts individuals who are world-class in athletic ability, role models in their community and have a strong record of humanitarian achievements.
Warrick Dunn and the Warrick Dunn Foundation Dunn, 33, a three-time Pro-Bowl running back entering his 12th NFL season is being honored for his work in assisting single-parents and their children to realizing the dream of home ownership by providing partial down-payment funding and home furnishings.
Through the Warrick Dunn Foundation (www.WarrickDunnFoundation.org), Dunn’s Homes for the Holidays program provides $5,000 toward the down payment and, fully-furnishes each home with new appliances, televisions, computers, linens, along with food and lawn care products to help alleviate the debt first time home buyers often accrue.
Dunn started Homes for the Holidays during his rookie year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997 as a way to honor his mother’s dream of owning her own home. His mother, Betty Smothers, a Baton Rouge police officer, was killed in the line of duty while working a second job to provide for her six children and never realized her dream of home ownership.
To date, Homes for the Holidays has assisted 78 single-parents and 205 children and dependents in Tampa and Tallahassee, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Atlanta, Georgia.
Vlade Divac and Humanitarian Organization Divac Divac, 40, a 16-year international basketball legend, won two Olympic silver medals and two FIBA World Championships while playing for his native Yugoslavia and starred with the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings.
Throughout most of his career, Divac has implemented humanitarian projects around the world through the Group Seven Children’s Foundation, which he founded in 1994 with six of his team-mates from the Serbian National Team. His work has provided more than $9 million in humanitarian assistance and educational programs to children in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States, Indonesia, Ethiopia and China. Divac’s attention is now focused on improving the circumstances of nearly 7,000 refugees displaced over 15 years ago from war-ravaged Yugoslavia.
Today, through Humanitarian Organization Divac (www.Divac.com) the You Can Too campaign has enlisted the support of NBA commissioner David Stern, the Los Angeles Lakers and a number of NBA players and coaches and Hollywood elite to raise $15 million to empower Serbian refugees to realize their right to housing, work, material security and self confidence.
Jimmie Heuga and The Heuga Center Heuga, 64, the bronze medalist in slalom skiing at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympic Games, joined Billy Kidd as the first Americans to earn Olympic medals in the alpine events and set the course of success for their country in the sport.
In 1970, at the height of his racing career, Heuga was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). At the time, when people living with MS were advised to avoid physical activity, Heuga defied conventional wisdom, and began a program of exercise, nutrition, and psychological motivation that improved not only his physical condition, but his outlook on life.
Heuga, along with experts in the MS medical community, went on to found The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis (www.Heuga.org) – bringing the healthy and active living practices that transformed his life from one of despair to one of health and well-being to others living with the chronic condition. In 2007, The Heuga Center for MS, which is recognized for fiscal responsibility, directly touched more than 6,000 people through education, events and programming in 15 states and 3 Canadian provinces, and globally through the World Wide Web.
The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame inductees now represent 12 different sports and support charitable causes in 11 philanthropic categories including Children & Youth, Civil Rights, Education, Health & Disease, Homelessness, Hunger & Poverty, Inner City Revitalization, Overseas Aid, Sports & Recreation, Values in Education, and Women's Equality in Sport.
The 2008 World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies take place Tuesday, June 24 in Boise, Idaho. Tickets are available at www.SportsHumanitarian.com.
About The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame (www.SportsHumanitarian.com), located on the Boise State University campus in Idaho, recognizes individuals and organizations from the world of amateur and professional athletics who, through their humanitarian efforts, distinguish themselves as role models in the community. Over 35 sports-humanitarians have been enshrined in Boise including tennis great Arthur Ashe, Major League Baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, NFL coaching legend Tom Landry, the NBA's David Robinson, soccer great Pelé and the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Hall was the inspiration behind Boise’s Humanitarian Bowl and its Humanitarian Awards program annually recognizes exceptional community-focused organizations and leaders from Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NCAA College Football and other organizations. The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is open weekdays to visitors and humanitarians of all ages.
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