Rachel Barcellona honored as Lightning Community Hero

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Rachel Barcellona as the 14th Lightning Community Hero this season during the first period of tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Barcellona, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil, will donate the money to the CARD USF Foundation, New Horizons Service Dogs and Diversity Action Coalition.

Barcellona has refused to allow an autism diagnosis to prevent her from achieving her dreams and she's relentlessly motivated to demonstrate that anything is possible for people with disabilities. She serves on the board for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at USF, an organization that provides resources to optimize the potential of those with autism and related disabilities.
She's also worked closely with the Tampa Police Department to train officers on responding to calls on people with autism. Her steadfast work and commitment to leave a legacy of positivity and acceptance has made the Tampa Bay area a more inclusive place to live. Barcellona has even performed the national anthem at a Lightning home game in the past.
Barcellona becomes the 425th 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 this evening's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $22.2 million to more than 750 different nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2016, the Viniks announced that the community hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.