NFL player and McKees Rocks-native Damar Hamlin was in Pittsburgh yesterday to announce the expansion of his Heroes Scholarship program to underserved Pittsburgh students.<\/p>\n
Hamlin\u2019s Chasing M\u2019s Foundation<\/a> will fund 10 $1,000 scholarships to his alma mater, Central Catholic High School in Oakland. The Buffalo Bills safety will also fund several scholarships for students attending trade or vocational schools.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have different dreams, and we want to support people alongside whatever their passions are,\u201d Hamlin said.<\/p>\n Hamlin\u2019s foundation operates two similar scholarship programs in Buffalo and Cincinnati. The Heroes Scholarship honors the 10 medical professionals who attended to Hamlin after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hamlin received a scholarship in 2013 to attend Central Catholic before going on to play for the Pitt Panthers from 2016 to 2020. He was drafted by the Bills in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd knowing that some people seen and believed in me as a young kid \u2014 to be able to provide that, I know how far that will go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Hamlin\u2019s Chasing M\u2019s Foundation has also worked to improve heart health education in Pittsburgh and around the country. He worked alongside federal lawmakers to help pass a bill<\/a> requiring public K-12 schools to develop cardiac emergency response plans and provide grants to support the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR training.<\/p>\n