In 2011, Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, along with his wife, Penny, launched the Lightning Community Hero program, which is a collaboration of the Vinik Family Foundation and the Lightning Foundation, to distribute $10 million to deserving Heroes and non-profits throughout the Tampa Bay community over a five year period. At each of the Lightning’s 41 regular season and playoff home games for the past four seasons, the Lightning Community Hero program has been honored to celebrate a local Hero and donate $50,000 to a non-profit charity of his or her choice. In the first five years of the program, we have shared the stories of 220 deserving Heroes at all of our home games and the Lightning Community Hero program, supported by the Vinik Family Foundation and the Lightning Foundation, has distributed funding to over 400 local charities, totaling $11,100,000 since the program’s inception.