TAMPA, FL –The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Bill Edwards as the Lightning Community Hero this evening during the first period of tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins. Edwards, 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 Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts.
Edwards has left an indelible impact throughout St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area. In 2011, Edwards began his journey as the visionary of the Mahaffey Theater where he has spent the past 13 years breathing new life into the building and curating opportunities to share the arts with school-aged children. The same year, Edwards founded the Bill Edwards Foundation and adopted the city-run Class Acts program. The Class Acts program consists of three primary areas: Live Performances, BAM! Festivals, and School Outreach, with each offering a unique programming that brings school curriculum to life through the arts. His investment in this programming and the Mahaffey Theater has and will continue to enrich the lives of thousands of individuals annually.
The funds from tonight’s grant will be used to support the mission of the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts. Specifically, the grant will help with providing transportation for students to attend their Class Acts Program. This will help ensure the program remains completely free for the 22,000 students the program serves annually.
Edwards became the 610th 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 $32.87 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.
