NFL player, Pittsburgh native Damar Hamlin launches new high school scholarship initiative

NFL player Damar Hamlin has well-established roots in the Pittsburgh area, attending the University of Pittsburgh and Central Catholic High School, and is a McKees Rocks native.

He was back at Central Catholic on Monday, announcing a new scholarship initiative. Hamlin is not just proud of what Central Catholic has given him, but what he is giving to it.

"It's emotional," Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety, said.

His Chasing M's Foundation announced that 10 $1,000 Heroes Scholarships will be given each year to qualified Central Catholic students.

The Heroes Scholarship program already exists in Buffalo, where Hamlin plays, and Cincinnati, where Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after collapsing on the field during a "Monday Night Football" game in January 2023 while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"To be able to provide kids with that is going to be something special," Hamlin said.

Additionally, five more scholarships will go to area high schoolers looking to attend a trade or vocational school, the foundation announced.

"People have different dreams, and we want to support people alongside whatever their passions are."

Hamlin says giving back to his alma mater is something he's always wanted to do. 

Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor, who graduated from Central Catholic in 2002 and was at Monday's announcement, says that sentiment is something the school is all about.

"We don't forget," the mayor said. "We want to leave this place better than we found it."

Hamlin said he hopes what his organization is doing leads the students to want to do the same when they get older.

"You've got to make sure you turn around and give back and make sure that people behind you see that. It's possible. It can be done," he said.