Bolts Give Back for Kindness Day

It’s important to a community to know people can come together to lift each other up during the rough and easy days especially when those people are the Tampa Bay Lightning players. Around every or so month a couple teammates will do little deeds to make a difference around the Tampa Bay community whether it’s putting a smile on someone's face, boosting shelter dogs adoptions, and feeding the poor. Remember growing up and always having that person who’s your idol and little things that person did inspired you to want to grow up and be like them? The same goes for our Bolts, many kids go to the season hockey games and look up to the players. It’s important to set an example you’d want your own children to be learning off of.

In a previous interview head coach John Cooper, says “As a community it’s crucial to support your city the way you want them to support you. Our actions as a whole reflect on who we are as a team and we as a team want to make a difference.”

Lightning players made up to 40 different stops around Tampa Bay as an act for “Strikes of Kindness Day.” Throughout Tampa Bay’s season they are funded and sponsored by local organizations, so they spent the day giving back to most of those organizations and they’re goal is to not just give back every once in awhile but making it an every week priority. Tuesday morning as of yesterday, if you stopped by the Kennedy Boulevard Dunkin Donuts you’d find that defenseman Ryan McDonagh and Braydon Coburn were working the drive through window giving free coffee and surprising fans. As well as, forwards Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde were passing out free Chick Fil A meals during the lunch crowd rush in South Tampa Gandy Boulevard. Up to 200 Chick fil A meals were handed out, 100 tickets were anonymously given, and hundreds of smiles were brought upon faces.

The funding to make Strike of Kindness Day possible, came from the $100,000 check awarded from winning the Presidents Trophy during the 62 regular season wins which was record setting for the Tampa Bay Lightning and never achieved by another NHL team in history. Of course it’s important to make sure organizations such as local cities NHL hockey teams have plenty of funding and money to keep the organization running, but owner Vinik insisted the full check was donated to give back to the community for the endless support fans gave to the Lightning.

Player Frazier says “It’s fun because I think throughout the 40 different stops, we’re literally having every different type of interaction or engagement that the guys could have. We’re at non-profits, to giving away money, volunteering, giving out free food and coffee, visiting fire stations, schools, police stations, hospitals, and visiting local youth hockey teams. It’s an amazing experience and feeling to give back to the ones who show us endless support.”