Sto-Rox community rallies around Damar Hamlin

As news spread of Damar Hamlin's collapse during an NFL game in Cincinnati, his family and friends back home in McKees Rocks watched on in horror.

"It was like a gut punch," says Dorian Glenn, the 24-year-old's uncle and a workforce development specialist in McKees Rocks. "It hurt my heart seeing my nephew collapse on the field like that. No one knew what was going on."

As of Tuesday evening, Hamlin's condition is reportedly stable, but he remains in intensive care. He suffered a cardiac arrest mid-game on Monday night after sustaining a heavy tackle.

The game has been postponed and won't resume this week, according to NFL officials.

Hamlin, a starting safety for the Buffalo Bills, has stayed invested in his hometown community since being drafted by the NFL in 2021. In December 2022, he led a toy drive at his parent's Stowe-based daycare business in for the third time in three years.

"He’s always looking to give something back to the community," Glenn tells Pittsburgh City Paper. "What I like most about my nephew is his positive outlook on life."

Since Hamlin's hospitalization, a fundraising campaign he launched in 2020 to raise money for his toy drives and other charitable causes has churned in millions of dollars from thousands of donors across the country.

His family released a statement noting their appreciation, confirming that all funds will be used for "Damar’s community initiatives and his current fight."

"Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us," the statement continues.

Dave Rugh, a Stowe commissioner and former coach and president for the Sto-Rox Little Vikings youth football franchise, tells CP the NFL star's talent was evident from the beginning.

"When he was 5, he was on the 8-year-old team," Rugh says. "He was just amazing."

But those close to Hamlin say his presence off the field is just as impactful.

"When he comes around the kids, the kids light up," says Cameron Culliver,  president of the Little Vikings and the Sto-Rox school board. "When he comes around adults, the adults light up."

"He continues to pour into his community," Culliver tells CP. "He never forgets where he came from."

Rugh says Hamlin's success serves as a source of hope for many children in the chronically underfunded school system.

"He was a role model for every one of these kids," Rugh says. "They look at him, and they say, 'Look what hard work can get you.'"

Likewise, whenever he returns home, the town's youth are awestruck.

"Some kids want toys, but most of them want to see Damar," Culliver says of Hamlin's toy drive initiatives.

According to former school director and sports coach, Ken Hohman, Hamlin opted to transfer to Central Catholic because the Sto-Rox football program was going through a rebuilding process during his middle-school years. Hamlin then played for the University of Pittsburgh before joining the Buffalo Bills in 2021.

Talking from the UC Medical Center in Cincinnati, Glenn says he and the family are being sustained by the many messages of love and prayers.

"I want to say thank you to everyone who’s supporting him," Glenn says, "It’s really heartwarming seeing the outpouring of love.”