Hey guys. This is my third interview with Danny talking about what he is involved in after football and his causes. If you want copies of my long interviews talking about Danny's career post here and ill post them.
Chris
Hurricane Katrina left many in New Orleans, Louisiana with nothing. Even one of the greatest players to ever play college football Danny Wuerffel lost his home in New Orleans. The 1996 Heisman Trophy winner and retired NFL player sought work with Desire Street Ministries a non profit organization in an inner city community centered around the Desire neighborhood and housing project after his football career. At one point, it was the second largest in the country helping young kids get on the track to a better life.
First off how are you?
"I am good Chris."
Before we get into anything about Desire Street donations, I just want to ask you any idea how long it's going to take to repair Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans?
"We have had some people at the facility over the last couple of weeks, and the good news is that it was built out of concrete blocks and is a salvageable place. The bad news is that's it going to take a lot of cleanup to get this thing ready. We are hoping to take our school back to New Orleans by fall of next year. There are still a lot of unanswered questions before we can know about that for sure."
Your passion since the end of your football career has been Desire Street Ministries. Tell me again what you do to give these kids a better life and how much donations are encouraged to help you guys get back on track from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"There was a ministry I joined in 1997 and have been on full time staff after my professional football career. The whole vision is to transform the desire neighborhood. At one point it was the worst rated neighborhood in the country. The way we do that is by raising kids and give them a whole new paradigm for life and work in relationships so they can succeed in life and ultimately transform their own community. We had a pediatric clinic, a school, and started to build houses and a church. That was what we have been doing. When the hurricane hit our staff, church, and extended families particularly our students at our school were scattered all over the place. The first thing we did was find them and take care of their needs. We opened our school as a boarding school in the Panhandle of Florida and that's been quite a task and project that we have had to raise a lot of money for. The best way to get all this information is to go to our web site desirestreet.org
Were you surprised at how different University of Florida organizations stepped up to make donations?
"It has been an overwhelming support. Personally for me and our ministry the Florida Gator nation has stepped up from the athletic association, individuals, booster clubs, and touchdown clubs all over the place. They have been doing all the things to support us. That's been super."
I know you have a lot of faith and have always been a positive person, but what have you said to those children from your group about this whole life changing experience?
"Well, it's been a real difficult situation for everybody. A lot of the kids want to go back home and it's hard to explain to them that they won't be able to back home. We have all been through a lot. We are trying to have our faith in the Lord and get things done."
I know this will be something you or the community of New Orleans will never forget. Have you had a chance to get near your damaged house and if were you able to save anything?
"We did get back to our house. Our house is pretty much a wash. It's totally ruined. We got a few things out of there, but that was all we could get. Most of the contents are ruined. We will have to try to rebuild from there."
I know there were probably some memories within your house. Is it safe to say your Heisman Trophy is in safe keeping and some of your other stuff?
"Well, fortunately I have left a lot of my stuff at my parents house in Florida. A lot of it wasn't ruined. The stuff that was ruined included an Olympic torch I carried before the Olympics and some paintings, but the Heisman Trophy and other trophies are at my parents' house."
Finally, does it shock you how New Orleans ten years ago for you was the greatest moment of your life when the Florida Gators won the 1996 National Championship and in the same city ten years later that Hurricane Katrina was the worst moment for this city that symbolizes a lot of who you are?
"It is amazing to see things change so fast through one storm. Particularly the Super Dome is a great place for the NFL to play the games then all of a sudden this shelter is being destroyed by the storm. I think it's a great example of how the storm devastated the city."
Audio link opens a media player as always
http://www.thesportsinterview.com/RMFiles/DannyWuerffel3.rm
Chris
Hurricane Katrina left many in New Orleans, Louisiana with nothing. Even one of the greatest players to ever play college football Danny Wuerffel lost his home in New Orleans. The 1996 Heisman Trophy winner and retired NFL player sought work with Desire Street Ministries a non profit organization in an inner city community centered around the Desire neighborhood and housing project after his football career. At one point, it was the second largest in the country helping young kids get on the track to a better life.
First off how are you?
"I am good Chris."
Before we get into anything about Desire Street donations, I just want to ask you any idea how long it's going to take to repair Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans?
"We have had some people at the facility over the last couple of weeks, and the good news is that it was built out of concrete blocks and is a salvageable place. The bad news is that's it going to take a lot of cleanup to get this thing ready. We are hoping to take our school back to New Orleans by fall of next year. There are still a lot of unanswered questions before we can know about that for sure."
Your passion since the end of your football career has been Desire Street Ministries. Tell me again what you do to give these kids a better life and how much donations are encouraged to help you guys get back on track from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"There was a ministry I joined in 1997 and have been on full time staff after my professional football career. The whole vision is to transform the desire neighborhood. At one point it was the worst rated neighborhood in the country. The way we do that is by raising kids and give them a whole new paradigm for life and work in relationships so they can succeed in life and ultimately transform their own community. We had a pediatric clinic, a school, and started to build houses and a church. That was what we have been doing. When the hurricane hit our staff, church, and extended families particularly our students at our school were scattered all over the place. The first thing we did was find them and take care of their needs. We opened our school as a boarding school in the Panhandle of Florida and that's been quite a task and project that we have had to raise a lot of money for. The best way to get all this information is to go to our web site desirestreet.org
Were you surprised at how different University of Florida organizations stepped up to make donations?
"It has been an overwhelming support. Personally for me and our ministry the Florida Gator nation has stepped up from the athletic association, individuals, booster clubs, and touchdown clubs all over the place. They have been doing all the things to support us. That's been super."
I know you have a lot of faith and have always been a positive person, but what have you said to those children from your group about this whole life changing experience?
"Well, it's been a real difficult situation for everybody. A lot of the kids want to go back home and it's hard to explain to them that they won't be able to back home. We have all been through a lot. We are trying to have our faith in the Lord and get things done."
I know this will be something you or the community of New Orleans will never forget. Have you had a chance to get near your damaged house and if were you able to save anything?
"We did get back to our house. Our house is pretty much a wash. It's totally ruined. We got a few things out of there, but that was all we could get. Most of the contents are ruined. We will have to try to rebuild from there."
I know there were probably some memories within your house. Is it safe to say your Heisman Trophy is in safe keeping and some of your other stuff?
"Well, fortunately I have left a lot of my stuff at my parents house in Florida. A lot of it wasn't ruined. The stuff that was ruined included an Olympic torch I carried before the Olympics and some paintings, but the Heisman Trophy and other trophies are at my parents' house."
Finally, does it shock you how New Orleans ten years ago for you was the greatest moment of your life when the Florida Gators won the 1996 National Championship and in the same city ten years later that Hurricane Katrina was the worst moment for this city that symbolizes a lot of who you are?
"It is amazing to see things change so fast through one storm. Particularly the Super Dome is a great place for the NFL to play the games then all of a sudden this shelter is being destroyed by the storm. I think it's a great example of how the storm devastated the city."
Audio link opens a media player as always
http://www.thesportsinterview.com/RMFiles/DannyWuerffel3.rm
