Abbotsford's Chase Claypool returned to his roots for the Chasing Hope Camp, which occurred in at McLeod Athletic Park in 91原创 on Saturday (April 5).

The mental health awareness football camp, presented with the British Columbia Community Football Association, featured the former NFL player and several BC Lions players working with young football players on both the physical and mental aspects of the game.

Session one was a morning camp open to ages seven to 12, while session two was in the afternoon for ages 13 to 18.

Claypool, along with BC Lions fullback Dylan St. Pierre and offensive lineman Michael Couture helped lead the youth through drills and also spoke about the importance of mental health. The Coqutilam-based Air Raid Academy were the hosts of the event and several coaches from the academy and BCCFA also assisted the camp. The Lions provided funding to ensure the camp took place.

The Chasing Hope organization was created by Claypool and his mother Jasmine Claypool to help raise funds and awareness for mental health and youth suicide prevention. It was inspired, in part, following the death by suicide of Claypool's former Abbotsford Panthers teammate Samwel Uko in 2020. They have hosted similar camps and events annually since 2021.

"I think mental health awareness is so important," Claypool said in the past about raising mental awareness. "People who are dealing with mental health are dealing with it because they're not seeking help or they don't think anyone is going through what they're going through. It's important to use your platform to say, hey you're not alone."

The 2016 Abbotsford Senior Secondary School grad is currently a free agent. He signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills in May of 2024, but then suffered a toe injury during training camp and was placed on injured reserve by the team for the remainder of the season.

He spent the 2023 season split between the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins. Claypool played for both Chicago and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. The wide receiver had an excellent rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including his four-touchdown performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 11, 2020. He is the only Canadian-born player and only Steelers rookie to achieve that feat.

It was reported in 2023 that the Saskatchewan Roughriders currently hold his CFL rights.