By Marva Sneed
Texas Metro News
Before Damar Hamlin suffered sudden cardiac arrest days ago on the football field, his charitable foundation sought to raise $2,500 to purchase Christmas toys for children in his community.
Yesterday, just eight days after Hamlin’s publicly televised heart event, his The Chasing M’s Foundation had raised more than $8.7 million, according to the charity’s crowdfunding account.
Call it a holiday miracle.
“This fundraiser was initially established to support a toy drive for Damar’s community, sponsored by The Chasing M’s Foundation,” a note on the charity’s GoFundMe account read.
“However, it has received renewed support in light of Damar’s current battle and we can’t thank all of you enough. Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us,” read the note, which also said Hamlin’s family supported the effort.
On Jan. 2., Hamlin, a safety, suffered a serious heart event during a televised matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL ended the game and, over the next several days, fans started prayer vigils and poured donations into Hamlin’s foundation in a massive show of support for the pro player.
Meanwhile, on Monday, in a surprise announcement, Hamlin’s medical team at the Cincinnati hospital at which he had been recuperating, told new reporters they had released the athlete and he had flown back to New York to be nearer his family and team.
Representatives for Hamlin’s foundation said in the online note they would work to use the money raised on the Go-FundMe platform for “toy drives, back-to-school drives, kids camps, and more.”
“We’re hopeful about Damar’s future involvement in disbursing the incredibly generous contributions,” the note read.
Donate to the foundation here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mxksc-the-chasing-ms-foundation-community-toy-drive
