Alaina Getzenberg November 5, 2023, 4:19 pm Reading: 5 min.
Damar Hamlin talks about his return to the fields: My faith is more powerful than any fear
The Bills defensive back admits he’s “a little scared” to set foot on a football field again, but he says his faith is stronger than any fear.
The Bills defensive back is honoring the medical staff who helped save his life in the game against the Bengals
On the day the Buffalo Bills return to Cincinnati for the first time since that game, Damar Hamlin pays tribute to some of the people who helped do just that.
Damar Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation announced a new scholarship program — the Damar Hamlin Cincinnati Heroes Scholarship — that will award scholarships in the names of 10 people who were involved in his care in Cincinnati. The program will serve high school and college students hoping to attend private high schools, vocational schools or universities in the Cincinnati area.
The Buffalo Bills return to Cincinnati for the first time since Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field.AP Photo
“I am honored by the opportunity to establish a scholarship program to honor this team of professionals — my Cincinnati heroes — who helped save my life on January 2,” Damar Hamlin said in a statement. “I created this scholarship program to recognize each of them for what they have done for me and at the same time help kids in communities who need some support as they look to attend a private high school, vocational school or college.”
The scholarships will be for $1,000 in the name of each of the 10 people, with the Chasing M’s Foundation committing to fund them over a three-year period and the first round of scholarships are planned to be awarded in 2024.
Damar Hamlin is originally from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, a community he holds close to his heart and values supporting and giving back. As a young man, Damar Hamlin received a scholarship to attend and play football at Central Catholic, a private school in Pittsburgh. Part of his goal in getting to the NFL was to have the opportunity to be in a position to give back, something he can now do.
“I struggled all the time growing up to know if I was doing the right thing and to know if I never had that person who did what I wanted to do,” Damar Hamlin told ESPN. “Someone from my area who was successful, someone who was successful in life who gave back to the community, showing the community that this is the right way to do things, whether it was football or whether it was just a person living a life worth living.”
This weekend won’t mark Damar Hamlin’s first time back in Cincinnati since Jan. 2, as he hosted one of his CPR Tour stops over the summer in the city. Damar Hamlin conducted three CPR Tours, also in Orchard Park, New York, and in Pittsburgh, to give people the opportunity to learn how to perform hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and deliver external defibrillators to sports teams youth. After Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, more than $9 million was donated to a GoFundMe account originally created by Damar Hamlin for a toy drive for a daycare that his mother, Nina, co-owns.
“I feel like God played a big role in all of that. Just seeing that I was someone who was actually doing the work and trying to make an impact somewhere and I think that [Dios] “It just took it to another level,” said Damar Hamlin. “I’m very grateful, very grateful and proud.”
The scholarships will be named after the following individuals: B. Woods Curry, Betty Tsuei, Saad Ahmad, Jason McMullan, Claire Deglow, Alyssa Zimmerman, Val Lake, Rob Hursong, John Bush and Gary Richardson., RRT (SICU RT).
When the Bills face the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday night, 25-year-old Damar Hamlin is not expected to be active. He has only been active in one game this season for Buffalo in his role as a backup safety. The Bills’ tone before the game was largely to treat it like a normal game week.
“We already talked about it, we already received his opinion, his main goal is for us to get the victory,” said Bills cornerback Dane Jackson, a friend of Damar Hamlin and a teammate at the University of Pittsburgh. “He’s not really too worried about what happened last year. He says we experienced it more than him, actually, if that makes sense. Obviously it happened to him, but with the aftermath and all, he wants us to stay positive.” and let’s achieve victory.”
2023-11-05 19:26:02
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