Stars, partners lending hand to community in time of need

With many businesses trying to help out during the stressful battle against the COVID-19 virus, the Dallas Stars are thankful for the efforts of their sponsors and partners.

While the business of hockey is getting hit hard, Guy Tomcheck, the team's vice president in charge of corporate partnerships, said he was impressed with how the team's business partners have reacted.

"When all of this started, we were in the position as a business to say, `How do we do right by our partners, how do we help them and hold up our end of the bargain,'" Tomcheck said. "And what has happened is that our partners have been less interested in getting make-goods and more interested in helping out. Their questions are: What do you need from us? What can we do to help?"

Likewise, the Stars have also asked themselves that question and come up with several great answers that have resulted in more than $400,000 in donations to local groups. The Dallas Stars Foundation has donated meals to the 140 people working at the Federal Medical Station, Ellis Davis testing site, and Emergency Operations Center at City Hall. Meals are being provided daily from March 30 to April 14.

The Stars Foundation also has auctioned St. Patrick's Day jerseys that were supposed to be worn during warmup and raised more than $10,000 for Meals on Wheels Collin County. In addition, Stars public address announcer Jeff K

is taking donations for doing Cameo appearances

in which he makes goal calls or personalized shoutouts for fans. He also is donating the proceeds to Meals on Wheels Collin County.

"We are fortunate to be in the position we are in, and that's why we have a Dallas Stars Foundation to help out the community and help out people who need it," said Stars president Brad Alberts. "We have a great organization, we work in a great city, and we have always stepped up when our area goes through rough times, whether that be tornadoes or natural disasters or something like this. And I think our group and our great corporate partners are trying to do that."

In addition, the Stars are trying to raise spirits, as well. The Stars are continuing their education programming, including Stick with Reading and Future Goals (STEM) online, and building unity with

"Quarantine in Victory Green" T-Shirts

. They also donated food from Comerica Center after events were suspended to North Texas Food Bank and Frisco Family Services.

Comerica Center also teamed up with RS3 Strategic Hospitality, the official food and beverage provider for Comerica Center, to offer weekly family meal kits to our community. Each kit will include grocery staples plus five meals for 4-5 people. All for $200 -- less than $10 per meal.

Comerica Center and RS3 Strategic Hospitality plan more family meal kits in the future, and you can keep up with their schedule on

Facebook

and

.

Comerica Center also could prove useful as a facility that can help handle the overload on medical facilities in North Texas. Tomcheck said that Anheuser-Busch has talked locally about marrying its ties between the Red Cross and the Stars to possibly solve some of the issues that are being presented right now.

"We have a relationship with Anheuser-Busch and they have done so many things on the national level. Well, locally, they are saying we have a relationship with the Red Cross, so let's do something," Tomcheck said. "So we have talked about mobilizing their teams with our facility, Comerica Center, and that's something I think we would all like to get done."

Just as Anheuser-Busch and other companies that have the ability to produce alcohol are using their facilities to make hand sanitizer and cleaners, Toyota North America is using its facilities to produce face shields, ventilators and medical devices.

TXU Energy has committed $450,000 to support Texans facing challenges caused by the pandemic. In addition to working with customers to keep electricity flowing, TXU will donate $200,000 to the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas' response and recovery fund.

Tomcheck said the efforts have been inspiring.

"It's just so good to know that we are working with companies that care and want to help," he said. "It's offering a positive during a difficult time."

Helping hands

Several partners of the Dallas Stars are doing what they can do to help out as the area battles against COVID-19. Here are a few examples of their efforts:

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.