Penguins Win 'Stanley Award' for Social Impact and Growth

Jun 02, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins were announced as the recipient of the NHL's 'Stanley Award' for social impact and growth. The NHL's Stanley Awards are presented annually by the league in honor of club business and marketing achievements. This year's ceremony was held in Los Angeles, California.

Pittsburgh was honored for its efforts in advancing equity in youth hockey, the Highmark Hunt Armory, the Braddock Carnegie Library Reading Champions built by U. S. Steel and PPS All-Stars mentoring program with Pittsburgh Public Schools.

"We are proud of our Penguins staff and partners for their commitment to positively impacting our Pittsburgh community and bringing greater diversity and inclusion to the game of hockey," said Penguins President of Business Operations Kevin Acklin. "We will continue to work hard every day to use the power of hockey to help overcome obstacles and build ladders of opportunity, and we thank the National Hockey League for recognizing our commitment to social impact."

Having recently concluded its second season of operation, the Highmark Hunt Armory, which was built to support equitable and inclusive hockey for Pittsburgh youth, was the first public indoor hockey rink built in the city limits in over 25 years. The rink offered various Learn to Skate sessions, Try Hockey for Free events, DICK'S Sporting Goods Little Penguins Learn to Play programs, after-school instructional hockey programs in partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools, free community organization skate nights and was home to the Pittsburgh Warriors, comprised entirely of veterans with service-connected disability. Open for only three months of the year, the facility has welcomed over 35,000 people through its doors in its first two seasons.

Video: Penguins win Stanley Award in Social Impact & Growth

In 2022, the Penguins teamed up with partner U. S. Steel to lead a fundraising effort in support of the Braddock Carnegie Library, a historic community center that holds significant distinction as the first of several thousand libraries that Andrew Carnegie built across the United States. The Penguins Foundation awarded the Braddock campaign with the Penguins' largest grant to date, contributing $200,000, while spearheading a campaign that raised $18 million for the completion of this project. When complete, the Braddock Carnegie Library is anticipated to house a number of Penguins Foundation youth programs, including Heads UP Pittsburgh baseline concussion testing, the COOL Zone behavioral health initiative and Reading Champions built by U. S. Steel, a program launched in early 2021 that rewards local third graders with Penguins prizes and tickets for the minutes they spend reading. In 2022, over 530 students across Pittsburgh logged over 456,000 minutes reading over 680 books, and students completing the program increased their reading proficiency by 20%.

Launched in the fall of 2022, the Pittsburgh Penguins' PPS All-Stars mentoring program is a comprehensive partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools using the power of hockey to create positive change in the lives of youth in Pittsburgh. Through free ticketing, mentorship and academic scholarships, the PPS All-Stars program provides access to opportunities to help students reach their full potential on and off the ice. Through the program, all PPS students in grades K through 8 have received free tickets to a Penguins regular-season game through the 2022-23 season. Over 13,400 students were invited to participate and over 5,000 students redeemed tickets to see the Penguins play at PPG Paints Arena.

This is the Penguins' third 'Stanley Award', and first in the social impact and growth category, after previously winning two awards for sponsorship activation - one at the 2023 NHL Club Business Awards for the "Rethink the Rink" partnership activation with Covestro, and one at the 2018 NHL Club Business Awards for the "Golden Ticket" and "Penguins Passport" promotions in 2016-17 and '17-18, respectively.