• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Advertising

My Sweet Charity

An Ongoing Conversation For the Good Of Dallas

  • Home
  • Photo Gallery
  • Event Calendar
  • Fundraisers
  • Health
  • Heroes
  • Contact

Houston Texans Quarterback Deshaun Watson Stars At Dallas Habitat For Humanity’s Inaugural Dream Builders Dinner

Nov 3, 2017 1:30 PM by Ellery the Elf

When 400 people turned up for Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity‘s inaugural Dream Builders Dinner at Belo Mansion on Thursday, October 19, Mary Martha Pickens and her husband, John Pickens, were among them. Longtime active Habitat supporters, the Pickenses brought a whole table-full of their Bible-study pals from Highland Park United Methodist Church with them.

Philip Wise*

Which made sense, because the church’s Carpenters for Christ group was one of the evening’s award recipients. The other was Philip Wise, one of the co-founders of Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity and also one of the HPUMC members who helped establish Carpenters for Christ. But hey, we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.

The fundraising dinner, put on with the help of co-chairs Diane and Mike Gruber, Jennifer and Tom Karol, and Lynn and Allan McBee, was intended to be “an evening of inspiration for the future, and gratitude for those who have helped us reach this stage over the past 30 years.”

Tom and Jennifer Karol, Allan and Lynn McBee, Deshaun Watson and Diane and Mike Gruber*

It also turned out to be something of a farewell party for Bill Hall, Habitat’s local CEO. Hall announced surprisingly that he would be “closing out my time at Habitat” after 13 years. During his brief remarks, Hall sketched out an ambitious goal for the Dallas chapter: building 1,600 new homes by 2021—almost as many as the nonprofit has put up in total over the last three decades.

The evening’s hands-down star attraction, though, was Houston Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson. The NFL’s leading touchdown passer this season posed happily for photos during the meet-and-greet, then was interviewed onstage by broadcaster Brad Sham, who’s known as “The Voice of the Dallas Cowboys.”

Brad Sham and Deshaun Watson*

Raised in a Habitat home by a single mother who worked two jobs, Deshaun said home ownership had changed his life. It was the lifeline that pulled his family out of poverty, giving him the chance to thrive. He also described the impact his mother had on him, even as a football quarterback: “It starts with my mom. I’m observant. I can see how different people move in [different situations]. I’m a conservative guy. … Whatever happens, good or bad, you’ve got to shake it off and go on the next thing.”

Another thing his mother taught him, Deshaun told Brad, was that “it takes a long time to build a legacy. But it takes just one false step, one move, to bring it down.” By the end of the evening, few believed Deshaun would be having that problem anytime soon.

Editor’s note: Roughly two weeks after his appearance in Dallas, Deshaun reportedly suffered a season-ending knee injury during a Texans practice.

* Photo provided by Habitat for Humanity

 

Filed Under: Celebrity, Dinner, Events, Fund raiser, FYI, Heroes, In need of help, Meet-and-greet, Photo session Tagged With: Allan McBee, Brad Sham, Deshaun Watson, Diane Gruber, Dream Builders, Habitat for Humanity Dallas, Highland Park United Methodist Church, Jennifer Karol, Lynn McBee, Mike Gruber, Philip Wise, Tom Karol

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

We cover the people, organizations and activities that make the North Texas area unique thanks to philanthropic and nonprofit endeavors. We limit our coverage to only news that directly impacts and benefits the area, but we do it with an "honest but friendly" hand.

MySweetCharity does not cover activities or news of a controversial nature.

Materials on this site are © copyrighted. Images contained on this website are not within the public domain. To republish, please send request to [email protected] for permission.

Disclaimer: We are provided gratis invitations from organizations without any expectations on their part of any coverage.

Subscribe for Email Updates

Search

Follow MyTweetCharity on Twitter
Follow MySweetCharity on Facebook

MySweetCharity

Resources

  • After-School All-Stars North Texas
  • American Heart Association – Dallas
  • Baylor Scott & White Health
  • Callier Center
  • Cattle Baron's Ball
  • Children's Health
  • Community Partners of Dallas
  • Dallas CASA
  • Dallas Film Society
  • Dallas Symphony Orchestra
  • Equest
  • Family Gateway
  • Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
  • Goodwill Industries of Dallas
  • Housing Crisis Center
  • Leukemia Texas
  • North Texas Giving Day
  • Southwest Transplant Alliance
  • Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas
  • The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture
  • The Dallas Opera
  • The Family Place
  • Trinity Park Conservancy

Categories

Archives

MySweetCharity sponsorships

  • 2019 Les Femmes Du Monde Woman Of The Year
  • Art Ball
  • Callier Cares Luncheon
  • Callier Center
  • Cattle Baron's Ball
  • Celebrating Women
  • Community Partners of Dallas
  • Concert For A Cure
  • Cotes Du Coeur
  • Crystal Charity Ball
  • Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala
  • Dallas Women's Foundation Annual Luncheon
  • Equest
  • Gateway To Opportunity Luncheon
  • KidneyTexas
  • Mad Hatter's Tea
  • North Texas Giving Day
  • ReuNight
  • Rising Stars
  • St. Valentine's Day Luncheon And Fashion Show
  • Texas Trailblazer Award Luncheon
  • The Salvation Army's Women's Auxiliary Fashion Show
  • Triumph Over Alzheimer's
  • Women of Distinction Luncheon
Copyright © 2018 My Sweet Charity · Web Design by Shauna Callaghan