Damar Hamlin: Chasing M’s foundation

6/30/2023

 The game was halted, players from both teams gathered in a circle of prayer, and the world watched waiting for what would happen as doctors attempted to resuscitate Hamlin in Paycor Stadium. Most NFL fans can recount what they were doing when they received the news that Damar Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills had gone into cardiac arrest on the field and was in critical condition. This alarming event raised questions about the sport of football’s viability for the future and youth: was all the risk worth it? What made it worth doing? 

Assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington performed CPR on Hamlin with other assisting medical staff nearby. Hamlin remarked, “I owe Denny my life, he loves to say he was doing his job, but that's something I’m truly thankful for and I don’t take for granted” (ABC News). AEDs (Automated external defibrillators) were also administered to Hamlin to resuscitate his heart until he was able to be taken away in an ambulance. 

But following his remarkable recovery from this traumatic event, Damar Hamlin channeled his experience into a campaign of positivity and inspiration. Hamlin’s“Chasing M’s Foundation,” served as a basis for him to advocate for the mandation of AEDs and the promotion of learning CPR in schools. 

The Chasing M’s foundation began as a simple GoFundMe toydrive buy Hamlin, to give to kids in his local Pittsburgh. He opened the mini charity near the end of his college career as a means to give back to his community. But following massive amounts of donations due to the publicity of his well known nearly tragic injury, he has expanded the Chasing M’s foundation into much more.

The Chasing M’s foundation started their “CPR tour”. In collaboration with the American Heart Foundation, they traveled to Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cincinnati and even London to spread hands-only CPR training. They were able to raise 340,000 dollars for the much-needed and life-saving provisions of AED equipment for youth sports programs (Chasing M’s Foundation Impact Report). 

Hamlin Shared his motivation for going to such lengths to promote the education of CPR, “One of the things that has inspired me most are the real-life stories of people who were inspired to be CPR trained

because of my experience, then turned around and saved the life of another person. As more lives are saved, I realize that it is a blessing to be a blessing (Chasing M’s Foundation Impact Report)

Arguably Hamlin’s greatest off-field achievement lies in his highlighting and extreme advocation for the Access to AEDs Act, an act that would create grant programs to schools in all 50 states to provide the life-saving equipment (Avive). Hamlin spoke at Capitol Hill, emphasizing how annually, 7000 kids below the age of 18 experience cardiac arrest, the majority of them being student-athletes. He also highlighted how the bill was key as a preventative measure, as nearly 1 in 300 students have an underlying and possibly undetected heart condition (Chasing M’s Foundation).

Hamlin actually began his foundation in college on GoFundMe, raising money as a toy drive for kids in the Pittsburgh area. However, following his highly publicized cardiac arrest, donations poured into his foundation, surpassing their humble goal of 2,500 to reach 9 million dollars (Getzenberg). Later, even after reaching such heights as speaking at Capitol Hill, Hamlin had not forgotten his original goal. The Foundation still hosted many community events and followed through on their toy drive by gifting 2000+ toys to the children of Hamlin’s hometown of Pittsburgh. On top of their original goal, they distributed 100 meals to families in need in Buffalo, hosted youth football camps, and provided School supplies for children in two cities (Chasing M’s Foundation Impact Report).

By their reports, the foundation has performed impressively; over three million people have learned CPR through them; there was a 620% increase in web traffic concerning topics of cardiac health and awareness; 1509 people were trained in CPR; 340,000 dollars worth of AEDs distributed; twelve additional states passing legislation for access to AEDs (Chasing M’s Foundation Impact Report)

Damar Hamlin transformed his near-death experience into a cascade of positivity everywhere he went and campaigned. His actions and determination speak to his character but also to the charitable and inspiring nature that sports seem to instill in so many athletes.

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Works Cited

"The Chasing M's Foundation." Chasing M's Foundation, www.chasingmsfoundation.com/.

"Chasing M's Foundation Impact Report." static1.squarespace, static1.squarespace.com/static/64220f549459cb5b2eb2e7a3/t/65f30b8b7fdd301ce3596cb9/1710427026741/Chasing+M%27s+Impact+Report_FINAL2023.pdf.

Damar Hamlin opens up about surviving on field scare | Nightline. ABC News, 2023.

Getzenberg, Alaina. "Damar Hamlin's CPR tour kicks off in Buffalo, distributes AEDs." ESPN, 3 June 2023, www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/37790276/damar-hamlin-cpr-tour-kicks-buffalo-distributes-aeds.

"Why The Access To AEDs Act, Championed by Damar Hamlin, is Such a Big Deal." Avive, 4 Apr. 2023, avive.life/blog/access-to-aeds-act-damar-hamlin-why-its-a-big-deal/.