TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Mary Ann Massolio as the fifth Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Massolio, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the 1Voice Foundation and Quantum Leap Farm.

Massolio has exhibited a relentless effort to help kids and bereaved families affected by cancer. She began working in the field of pediatric oncology nearly 25 years ago. A few years after entering the field, Massolio’s youngest son, Jay, was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and shortly after lost his battle with cancer. Wanting to honor Jay’s fight and others facing similar tragedy, Massolio decided to devote her life to the needs of cancer families.

Tonight’s Lightning Community Hero has created many collaborative partnerships to assist the various needs of families affected by cancer including: the brain tumor support group (Shriner’s Hospital); equine therapy group (Quantum Leap Farm); bereaved family support group (CSA Palm Harbor, Lifepath Hospice, Suncoast Hospice) private classroom experiences at Florida Aquarium (Krewe of Nautilus); Parents’ Day Off (Quantam Leap Farm, Florida Aquarium); cancer research (USF); legislative coalition (Alliance for Childhood Cancer), and many more. Massolio currently serves as Executive Director of 1Voice Foundation which provides educational, psychological and financial resources through family support groups and provides funding for pediatric cancer research at the College of Medicine at the University of South Florida.