CINCINNATI – As Buffalo Bills fans and fans all around the NFL waited for updates on safety Damar Hamlin, they flooded his foundation with donations.
Hamlin set up a GoFundMe for the Chasing M's Foundation Community Toy Drive. The toy drive was set up to benefit Kelly and Nina’s Daycare Center in McKees Rocks, just outside Pittsburgh. Nina is Hamlin’s mother, who helps run the center.
“As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me,” Hamlin wrote on the GoFundMe.
The original goal was $2,500. As of 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, the donations had swelled to more than $4.2 million, with more than 156,000 donors.
Jordon Rooney, who has helped Hamlin with marketing and charitable efforts, tweeted Tuesday morning that the "donations will support his foundation, which does toy drives, back to school drive, kids camps and more." The GoFundMe was updated to reflect that.
Bills fans are well-known for raising money for players' foundations for a number of reasons, but particularly for players who have been injured or are going through a death in the family or other trauma. In Hamlin's case, that spread far beyond Buffalo.
Hamlin returned to Pittsburgh in December for the toy drive, which was his third annual.
Hamlin wants to give back in multiple ways, but particularly in his home community. Earlier this season, before the Bills faced the Steelers, Hamlin, who also went to University of Pittsburgh, shared how the city had shaped him.
“No matter what, I'm gonna keep fighting, I'm gonna make the best of my situation,” Hamlin told The Buffalo News in October. “Just coming from nothing, coming from the bottom, just that I'm working my way up. Nothing has been handed to me at all. That's a big part of it as well. Nothing being handed to me: you got to work for everything that you want, and that you get.
“And if you do work, you’ll see results.”
Fans who want to donate can do so here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mxksc-the-chasing-ms-foundation-community-toy-drive
