Will Sheets, a state champion running athlete at Covington Catholic and Gatorade’s 2024-2025 Kentucky Boys Cross Country Player of the Year, will donate $1,000 of grant money he received for earning the player of the year title to the One Shot Foundation, a local nonprofit that advocates for heart safety (especially in sports) and AED distribution in public spaces.
Gatorade Players of the Year choose local nonprofits and charities to donate their awards to.
“We are incredibly honored and grateful to Will for choosing to support our mission,” said Matthew Mangine, co-founder of the One Shot Foundation, in a press release. “His donation will go directly toward expanding access to life-saving emergency equipment and training through our Take10 hands-only CPR and AED education program. Will is not only an elite athlete—he’s a young man who truly exemplifies what it means to lead by example.”
The Mangine family began the One Shot Foundation after their son, Matthew Mangine Jr., a student at St. Henry District High School, died after going into cardiac arrest at soccer practice in 2020.
“Since the foundation’s launch in 2021, the One Shot team has trained over 26,000 people in hands-only CPR, donated over $100,000 in medical emergency and training equipment and provided 100 AEDs to schools and athletic organizations,” according to the organization’s press release. The Mangines also speak frequently at state and national conferences regarding the importance of Emergency Action Plans and cardiac safety in youth sports.
“We can’t wait to celebrate Will’s incredible generosity and continue shining a light on the importance of keeping our athletes safe,” said Kimberly Mangine, co-founder of the foundation, in the same release. “Will’s decision to give back to his community in this way means the world to us.”
You can learn more about the foundation at oneshot.life, and stay tuned to LINK nky for more news on Sheets and other local athletes.
