TAMPA, FL – The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Doug McCree as the Lightning Community Hero this evening during the first period of tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. McCree, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Hero program, presented by Jabil, will donate the money to The Spring of Tampa Bay.
McCree has volunteered with The Spring since 2009, when he joined their Board of Directors. During his first 10 years of service, McCree served in several leadership roles, assisting The Spring in navigating through difficult leadership transitions, and helped institute many positive governance changes including board term limits. Additionally, when the Family Justice Center, which housed all of The Spring’s non-residential case management programs, abruptly ceased operations in 2013, McCree stepped up to find an alternate location to ensure that the 1,000 domestic violence survivors being served only saw a minimal disruption in support. Offering a temporary place to work to donating opportunities to limit the financial burden on The Spring are just a few examples of the extraordinary work and impact McCree has had. The work McCree does helps The Spring serve over 3,700 survivors and children annually.
The funds from tonight’s grant will be used to support the renovation and expansion of services The Spring offers. This new center will consolidate access to several of their non-residential survivor service programs. Some of those programs include any case management, support groups, their Rapid Re-Housing program, licensed therapy, and Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence.
McCree became the 604th Lightning Community Hero since the Vinik Family introduced the Lightning Community Hero program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through tonight’s game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $32.57 million to over 760 unique nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2021, the Vinik Family announced that the Community Hero program would continue its commitment with an additional $10 million through the 2025-26 season. Upon joining the ownership group of the Tampa Bay Lightning in October 2024, Doug Ostrover, Marc Lipschultz, and their families have teamed up with the Vinik Family to contribute to the program and ensure its continued success and lasting impact across the Tampa Bay community.
