Cooper serves as the Chief of Prevention and Intervention Services at Children's Home Network, and is currently serving as the project lead on their Kinship Program. As a social worker, he has continuously been an advocate for children and families in need. However, the turning point that inspired him to spearhead the Kinship Program was when he realized his work could prevent children from entering the foster care system. That has driven him to create this preventative program that will strengthen and stabilize families, instead of the children having to experience the trauma of being separated.
The grant tonight will be used to for Children's Home Network's Kinship Program, which supports at-risk children being raised by relative caregivers across Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. The program serves as a mechanism to help reduce the number of children who enter the foster care system. It improves family resiliency, caregiver self-efficacy, and builds social support systems to create a stable, safe and nurturing home environment in which a child can succeed.
Cooper became the 534th 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 $29.07 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.
