$5K donation for Wes Leonard Heart Team

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - More than three months after Wes Leonard's sudden death after making a winning basket for the Fennville basketball team, he continues to inspire.

On Tuesday, Auburn Hills-based company The Rush, which specializes in video sports highlights, donated $5,000 to the Wes Leonard Heart Team.

The donation was announced at Hope College, where Fennville's team went on to win several emotional games after its star player's death.

Leonard was 16 on March 3 when he died of cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart. He collapsed on the court after making a game-winning layup in overtime -- which lifted his Blackhawks to a perfect 20-0 season -- and passed away hours later at Holland Hospital.

Already, the Wes Leonard Heart Team has made a difference. The nonprofit organization created by Leonard's parents and others, expects three more automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, for the Fennville district. It already has six.

At the time of Leonard's death, the school district had just one device, which re-starts a failing heart, but it wasn't in the same building.

Every other week, the heart team trains high school students and others in how to use an AED, and perform CPR.

Leonard's mother, Jocelyn Leonard, said the team is also pushing for a state law requiring AEDs and training in all schools.

"We all have guilt on us because we didn't save him," Jocelyn said. "But what we do is take a step forward and we save the next child -- something positive."