Shine A Ligh7 was founded in 2017 by Paul Martin and Todd Luoma who met decades earlier when Todd was fitting Paul with his first pair of Mission Hockey skates while playing for Elk River High School. Paul eventually went on to play hockey for the Minnesota Gophers, winning national championships in 2002 and 2003, had a successful professional hockey career spanning fifteen years with the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the San Jose Sharks, and was fortunate enough to be named to three U.S.A. Olympic Teams, participating in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. 

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Throughout much of Paul’s career, he navigated his own mental health journey while seeing firsthand how suicide and mental health issues can impact a family, a community, and a team. Finally turning passion into reality, Paul launched Shine A Ligh7 Foundation which aims to be a champion for youth mental health education and awareness throughout Minnesota. Through a mutual connection of shared stories and experiences, Shine A Ligh7 envisions a world where no stigma is attached to mental health and youth are empowered to share their stories and seek out mental health resources. 

 

Following Paul’s retirement from the NHL and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation recruited a team of non-profit professionals to serve on an ‘architect squad’ to provide further structure and framework for Shine A Ligh7. These individuals possess skills in strategic thinking, activation, communication, creativity, development and collaboration. Most importantly, they all share a passion with Paul to serve others. The result of their work is an inspired non-profit organization with a community of people ready to let their soul shine.