A Queens-born NFL player has teamed up with an NYPD detective to tackle a shortage of football safety gear for city kids and will teach them gridiron skills.
Derek “Bonecrusher” Dennis, 25, a 315-pound offensive lineman with the Carolina Panthers, met with kids in Cambria Heights on Saturday to kick off a fund-raising campaign to supply the South Side Sea Hawks with helmets, pads and other equipment they need. He’ll also coach the kids during a football camp in June.
Detective Patrick Blanc, 45, started the fund-raising effort in 2008 through a volunteer program, Embraz Ya Kidz. Last year, the organization raised more than $20,000 for the kids, ages 5 through 14. This year, Blanc is hoping the star power will help raise $60,000.
Dennis grew up in the Laurelton section of Queens, where 15 members of his family shared a small home. The 6-foot-3 rookie jumped at the chance to come home and reach out to kids.
“I don’t forget where I come from,” he told The Post. “My parents worked hard, and as I got older, things got better for my family. But at one point we were living out of a car.”