Divine Nine local leadership honored as Lightning Community Heroes

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning honored local leaders from the Divine Nine as the Lightning Community Hero this evening during the first period of tonight's game against the Anaheim Ducks. These local leaders, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil, will donate the money to their respective organizations: Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Beta Sigma, Sigma Gamma Rho, Zeta Phi Beta, Omega Psi Phi, and Iota Phi Theta.

Decade after decade, historically black fraternities and sororities, also known as the Divine Nine have provided training, tutoring, and resources to support college preparation, scholarships, economic empowerment, and civil and human rights advocacy for the next generation and generations to come. With more than 1.5 million men and women initiated over 117 years, the Divine Nine organizations have produced cultural, political, military, business, civic and world leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vice President Kamala Harris, Hakeem Jefferies, John Lewis, Michael Jordan, Shirley Chisolm, and so many others.
The grant tonight will continue to enable each fraternity and sorority to provide scholarships, college preparatory support and occupational training opportunities for local students from the Tampa area. Thanks to the tireless efforts of these organizations, countless individuals have gone on to make an indelible impact on our community and society, with many following in their footsteps.
The Divine Nine became the 531st 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 $28.92 million to more than 700 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.