About

The Big Whit Foundation

In 2008, NFL football player Andrew Whitworth and wife Melissa made a decision to invest back into their community by creating a non-profit organization that would impact area youth and families.

The Whitworth’s felt strongly that their success was rooted deeply in the community and the friends and family that helped them along the way.

The Big Whit 77 Foundation serves a mission to impact the lives of youth and families in local communities.

Whit's Warriors

Because of Andrew’s commitment to positive development of youth, the scholarship program was the first to launch from the foundation.

Whit’s Warriors offers financial assistance to high school seniors in Ouachita and Lincoln Parishes. The program has grown tremendously over the last few years and has awarded over 400,000 dollars in scholarships and school supplies.

Open Arms

The second program introduced from the Big Whit 77 Foundation was Open Arms. This piece was driven by Melissa’s passion that families who have the heart to adopt should be supported and encouraged throughout their journey.

Open Arms is one of the only programs in the state of Louisiana that offers financial assistance to families in the process of adoption.

It is important to us that those families who are called to adoption are not turned away because of overwhelming cost.

Wish List Event

The most recent program developed by the Big Whit 77 Foundation is the annual Wish List Event.

This event partners ULM and Louisiana Tech athletes with local families for fellowship and fun during the Christmas season. The last two years of this event has been an amazing experience and blessed 20 families.

The Foundation is financially supported by countless community sponsors and individual donations, as well as, Andrew and Melissa Whitworth. We truly could not have the reach that we do without the dedication, commitment and investment the community has made in the foundation. Supporters can earmark donations to a particular program, donate in general, or attend fundraisers when available to support the steadfast mission.

The Whitworth’s divide their time among Louisiana and Los Angeles and stay busy on and off season. They have 4 children: 6 year old twins Drew and Sarah, 5 year old Michael, and 2 year old Katherine. Both Andrew and Melissa stay involved in the Foundation as well as countless other organizations.

 

Our Partners

  • Century Link - Leadership Conference Sponsor
  • Merrill Lynch - Wish List Event Sponsor

Want To Get Involved?

Would you like to make a difference in the lives of youth and families in Northeast Louisiana?

You can do so by making a financial donation to the Big Whit 77 Foundation. Donors can make a general donation or earmark their donation to one of our 3 programs: Whit’s Warriors, Open Arms, and the Wish List Event. The Big Whit 77 Foundation is a 503C organization and can provide you with a donation letter for tax purposes.

You can also shop Amazon Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/ and choose the Big Whit 77 Foundation to have a small portion of your purchase donated to the foundation. Amazon Smile works the same as Amazon or Amazon Prime.

Want to volunteer? Send us an email and we will contact you when there are volunteer opportunities.

Board Members