TAMPA, FL – The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Bryan Stern as the Lightning Community Hero this evening during the first period of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Stern, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil, will donate the money to Project DYNAMO.
Stern, along with several other Tampa area veterans and civilians, formed Project DYNAMO with the goal of saving American lives wherever they may be in trouble. Through his leadership, Project DYNAMO has rescued almost 6,500 people over 590 missions, impacting and re-uniting thousands of families. Additionally, he has delivered hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to the most devastated areas on earth. They are active in many countries across the globe, facilitating missions in up to ten of them at a time. Stern’s courage, selflessness, resilience, empathy and bravery has inspired many throughout the Tampa Bay area to step up and make our community better every day.
The funds from tonight’s grant will be used to continue to further and expand the unique missions of Project DYNAMO. Specifically, it will be used for their international rescue operations focused on rescuing Americans and Allies from conflict zones, natural disasters, and other austere environments both overseas and domestic. Additionally, they will continue the fight against human-trafficking targeting the most vulnerable populations.
Stern became the 570th Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik 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 $30.87 million to nearly 750 unique nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2021, the Viniks announced that the Community Hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.
