TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County, donating their own money and time to help create affordable housing for the community that roots for them every week.
More than a dozen Bucs players, along with team staff, joined other Habitat volunteers to work on homes under construction in Temple Terrace — including the two they are helping to fund.
"The special thing about it is seeing the family and how hard they are working," Bucs running back Rachaad White said. "For us to be in a certain spot or predicament in our life where we can help or donate whatever we need to donate: time and money, things like that."
White and his teammates helped volunteers install windows in the homes.
Middle school students from the NFL-led Youth Leadership Program and members of the Tampa Police Department also volunteered their time Tuesday.
Despite the rain, players laughed as they enjoyed working together and giving back to their community.
"You learn a lot of new things, and the great thing about this is you can put yourself in somebody else's shoes and see how hard their work is," White said.
Tampa resident Tiffany Miranda doesn't normally come to the construction site of her future home on a weekday. But she was there on Tuesday to see the Bucs work her and other homes.
"Normally, I work on the house on Saturdays, but I did request off just to here and see what was going on," Miranda said.
Miranda is looking forward to finally providing a forever home for her family, which includes her boyfriend, their 4-year-old twin daughters, and her little brother.
More than 90 percent of the Bucs rooster have contributed to the new partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The organization matched that through the Bucs Social Justice Initiative, which was launched in 2018.
Bucs players will also be present when the two homes are dedicated — there to hand the new homeowners their new keys. Construction is expected to be completed next month.
