Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin was named the winner of a prestigious community award on Wednesday.
Buffalo Bills' safety Damar Hamlin on Wednesday won the 2023 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award.
The annual award recognizes one NFL player each year who goes above and beyond to give back to his hometown and team city.
Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest on Jan. 2 during a Bills' regular season game, collected more than $9 million in donations for his charity The Chasing M’s Foundation Toy Drive.
The donations all go to help provide gifts for children in Hamlin’s hometown of McKees Rocks in western Pennsylvania.
“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 donation page originally launched back in 2020.
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The winner of the award last year went then-Philadelphia Eagles' safety Rodney McLeod who co-founded his foundation, Change Our Future, back in 2020 with his wife Erika.
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McLeod, who now plays for the Colts, pledged $20,000 toward educational programs, focus groups and curriculum to Constitution High School and Hill-Freedman World Academy, both in Philadelphia.
Hamlin was drafted by the Bills in 2021 and remained on injured reserve through the playoffs.
