Thoughts and prayers from across New York state and around the country continue to go out to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
One school district pulled out all the stops in his honor.
It came at the end of a worrisome week following Monday's collapse of Damar Hamlin on the field in Cincinnati, there is some relief and celebration at the Greece Central School District where Friday was "Damar Hamlin Day."
Thousands of students and faculty attending the 20 schools within the Greece district wore their Bills shirts and accessories to school on Friday to show support for Hamlin.
“Damar is awesome,” said 7th grader Leah Drake. “He's one of my favorites. After I saw what happened to him, I was just like, scared. I was upset. And then after I heard that he woke up, I heard that yesterday, I was just so happy.”
The students are signing posters and making cards for Hamlin.
“I think everybody’s feeling love trying to support him, trying to get him back on his feet a lot,” said 7th grader Jarvis Harvard. “So I think, trying to get him back on his feet, help him rest easy.”
“I said, ‘I hope you feel better’ and that it was really sad how he fell on the field," said 6th grader Aeja Taylor.
“I said, ‘rest up easy’ and I wrote his name,” said 9th grader Tyrese Rudolph. “…It's just crazy. Like I'm just wondering how his family’s feeling.”
Teachers, staff and coaches are also involved. In fact, Arcadia Middle School teacher Carla Brunco created a picture of Hamlin that will be auctioned off, with the funds going to his charity.
“That was done within 14 hours yesterday,” said Charles Hepburn, Greece Olympia assistant principal. “So that was a quick turnaround. And it shows that our educators are willing to help support causes like this to help build that community.”
Teacher and coach Shane Ricci organized the district’s Damar Hamlin Day.
“I think it's very important, getting the community in to see what we do that we're not just here to teach kids about math, science and ELA, but we're here to teach kids about how to be good people,” said Ricci.
The leaders at the event say it gives students a chance to express their feelings and do something positive after witnessing a scary event.
“It was sad when we saw Mr. Hamlin go down on Monday night,” said Hepburn. “It shows the strong community that we have in Greece and it shows that our students can be supportive of others that are not in their community. So it just shows the camaraderie of all individuals that showing that human nature and that kind heart which is needed in times like this.”
"I hope that he can get back on the team soon and that he can keep playing," said Leah.
The signed posters and cards are being delivered to Orchard Park to be on display for Sunday's Bills game.