St. Petersburg artist teams up with Lightning anthem singer

Matt Shapiro is a big fan of all Tampa Bay sports, which he celebrates through his apparel business, 1771 Designs. He makes fun T-shirts in a category of his website called Diehard TB Fan Apparel.

But now he’s designed a T-shirt in an effort to do good. He’s part of the tight-knit community of Tampa Bay Lightning fans, so when he learned that the Lightning’s anthem singer Sonya Bryson-Kirksey had multiple sclerosis, he wanted to help.

“The medications to control MS are expensive and unfortunately insurance doesn’t cover all of the costs, " Shapiro said in a news release. “Many battling MS have to choose between paying for their medications or their monthly expenses.”

Shapiro teamed up with Bryson-Kirksey, fellow fan Sarah Couture and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in an effort to “crush MS.” He designed a shirt that reads “Puck Multiple Sclerosis” and features a kiss print in Bryson-Kirksey’s signature blue lipstick. It also includes a military insignia, a nod to her being a retired U.S. Air Force technical sergeant.

It’s $28, available online at 1771designs.com. 100 percent of the proceeds go to the National MS Society in honor of Bryson-Kirksey. So far, $1,400 has been raised.