Harrison Phillips, a defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, chose the dinner tab for Dammar Hamlin’s family and the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The NFL world is supporting Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest during his game against the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night. He was given CPR on the field at Paycor Stadium and was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Many NFL players have sent their prayers to Hamlin and even made donations to his charitable foundation, the Chasing M’s Foundation. A former Bills teammate at Hamlin, Harrison Phillips, who is now a defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, picked out the dinner tab for his family, the Bills coaching staff, and all the doctors and nurses on the ICU floor.
Harrison Phillips picks up the dinner tab for the family of Damar Hamelin, UCLA Medical Center’s intensive care unit
“I found a sandwich shop and ordered food—chips, drinks, sandwiches, whatever I could find, salads, whatever—for all the doctors and nurses on the ICU floor, the Damar family members who are there, and the training staff at the ICU floor,” Phillips said. Via the official Vikings website. “They managed to plug that in for dinner last night,” Phillips said. “I have a buffet from Chipotle [Wednesday night] Coming to dinner for all the doctors and nurses – I think there are 50 or so. I just wanted to try to do something.
The former Bills linebacker says he organized the dinner orders on Tuesday after reaching out to someone at the hospital.
Phillips notes in the article linked above that he made a donation to the Hamlin Charitable Fund, which he set up in late 2020 while he was in college playing for the University of Pittsburgh. The initial driving goal was set at $2,500. As of this writing, the GoFundMe page has raised over $6 million.
Here’s an updated statement on the game engine’s GoFundMe page:
This donation was initially made to support a Games for the Damar community campaign, sponsored by Chasing M’s Foundation. However, it has had renewed support in light of the current battle of Damar and we can’t thank you all enough. Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.
As representatives of Damar, the team at Jaster Athletes has posted fundraising updates and will work with the Hamlin family, Chasing M’s Foundation and the GoFundMe team to ensure safe delivery of funds.
Damar created The Chasing M Foundation to use it as a way to make a lasting impact on his community. The foundation supports game drives, back-to-school drives, kids’ camps, and more. We hope Damar’s future involvement will cash out incredibly generous contributions.
“This is the only current fund the Hamlin family uses. We appreciate your understanding as we give them the time and space they need to focus on Damar’s health first.
“Once again, thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support during this time.”
The Bills issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying Hamlin “remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit with signs of improvement.” Hamelin is expected to remain in intensive care as doctors monitor him, according to the team.
We’ll continue to update you on Hamlin’s health status, which you can follow in the article linked below.