Damar Hamlin envisioned what Tuesday night would look like over and over again.

The Buffalo Bills’ safety had hosted holiday toy drives in his hometown in years past, but this one was a little different.

By the time he walked in the gymnasium at Sto-Rox High School, it felt as if he had been there before.

“It’s real fulfilling, and it’s real heartwarming. It’s a real moment of just life coming full circle,” Hamlin said Tuesday at the event. “I feel like ‘That’s So Raven’ a little bit, when she used to have her visions of seeing things. Man, I’ve seen this thing 100 times over, and I just couldn’t wait to get to this moment.”

Hamlin, then at the University of Pittsburgh, had held his first toy drive in 2020, starting a GoFundMe with a goal to raise $2,500.…

The GoFundMe resurfaced in January in the aftermath of his cardiac arrest on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals.

When Hamlin woke up at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, one of the first things his parents, Mario and Nina, told him was about the donations that had poured in and were not slowing.

Bills General Manager Brandon Beane recounted the hours in the hospital with the Hamlin family and with Bills assistant athletic trainer Tabani Richards, watching the total go up and up. People had heard about Hamlin’s toy drive – he had recently hosted his third – and they wanted to give where they could as they waited for updates on his health.

“Tabani was keeping up with (the GoFundMe), and he was like ‘Hey, man, he’s at three-point-this, he’s at four-point-one,” Beane said in January. “And we were laughing and (Nina’s) like, ‘He just wanted $2,500 for this thing.’ ”

Eventually, the number exceeded $9 million.

“(Nina’s) like some of the toys he bought, there was always like some disagreements with which child gets this toy and that one,” Beane said, “And I was like, ‘You’re gonna be passing out cars next year, not toys.’ ”

On Tuesday night in the town that raised him, about 750 people walked away with something new from among the more than 2,000 toys, 50 bikes and hundreds of books. Baby dolls, race cars, speakers. Gifts that came from others pouring into Hamlin, so he could pour back into the community himself. His fourth annual toy drive, with his Chasing M’s Foundation, was a culmination of so much.

“I couldn’t wait for this,” Hamlin said. “Because I’ve received so much love, so many blessings. I just couldn’t want to pay them all forward.”

It was a meaningful night, too, for Mario and Nina, who handpicked all the toys themselves. Who raised Damar to be the kind of person who gives back alongside them. Who have been there for each step of the way.

“To see how this thing has grown over the years, honestly, just me and my family, we’re thankful for everybody else supporting Damar and his mission,” Mario said. “So, we feel like everybody is a part of this. … Everybody put this together, with all their generosity, with blessing the foundation and believing in our mission and our journey.”

Because the mission has grown, it now includes CPR education and access to AEDs. Sporting events in the summertime. Scholarships in Cincinnati. Turkey drives. The Hamlin family has been planning all sorts of events this year. But the toy drive still holds a special meaning, especially around the holidays.

“It was big,” Nina said. “Right now, with everybody needing the extra help, this was really big for the community. … I feel like everything has just been snowballing for the good.”

Hamlin practiced in Orchard Park on Tuesday, and he got a ride back and forth from McKees Rocks to make sure he could be there in person, even amid a busy week. Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, who Damar calls “Uncle D,” wasn’t surprised that his nephew found a way to make the schedule work. Nor was he surprised at how many people showed up for Hamlin.

“You see the turnout we had?” Glenn said. “I mean, we had a line going all the way out to the pizza shop on Broadway Avenue. It don’t get better than that.”

In the past, Hamlin’s toy drive was held at his mom’s daycare, not far from the high school. With the generosity from others amplifying the drive, the family expanded to the Sto-Rox gymnasium. They worked with Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and Van Guard Cleaning. The books came from Stella Niagara Education Park.

Deymir Pollard, 12, attended last year’s toy drive as well with his family. This year, he picked out a scooter, and his younger brother got a Spider-Man book and a firetruck. Pollard lives in McKees Rocks, too, and seeing Hamlin back in the community means a lot to him.

“It’s bigger from last year,” he said. “It’s nice that he grew up here … and now, he wants to give back to his community. … It’s actually cool because you can see his journey.”

The line was out the door and around the corner, though eventually it wrapped inside the halls of the high school and through the auditorium as the night went on.

“To see how it’s grown from where we were last year to see this right here, I mean it’s really an incredible thing to witness,” Glenn said. “And I just want to continue to grow with it. Because when we grow, the community grows.”

A few minutes after he arrived, Hamlin ran by himself down a hallway, pulling the door shut behind him. He wasn’t avoiding anyone; he was changing into his Santa costume. Hamlin spent the night on a large velvet armchair, where each kid came up to him after selecting their gifts. There was time for a photo, but before that, it was time to talk. Hamlin wanted to know from each kid what they got and why.

“When you invest in a community, you do it through a lot of different ways: resources, time, energy and effort,” Glenn said. “And it shows all of them in this event, wrapped in one. It was a great demonstration of that, and it just shows the authenticity that he has of really trying to give back to the community in every way that he can.”

Hamlin stayed in costume until the last kids came to his chair. At one point, his family called over to him to see if he wanted to eat. Little brother Damir checked in from time to time. But Damar stayed put and stayed in character.

“He was committed,” Nina said. “He enjoyed it.”

Hamlin had spent so much time visualizing this night that he certainly wasn’t going to cut it short.

“To actually be here, and be living it, it means the world to me. And it’s so surreal,” Hamlin said. “Moments like these make me feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and they make me feel like I’ve worked my whole life for something. So, life feels complete to me.”