Tina Charles\u2019 legacy not only lies in her on-court dominance but her community work. Last month, Charles received the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, \u201crecognizing her extraordinary commitment to service, social justice, and creating lasting impact in the communities she serves.\u201d Charles now finds herself amid a life-threatening crisis, where her on-the-ground community work is urgently needed.<\/p>\n
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Charles\u2019 mother, Angela, hails from Jamaica. It is the island nation where Hurricane Melissa struck Tuesday with top sustained winds of 185 mph. Tina Charles was visiting family when Melissa struck the island, leading to flight cancellations and an extended stay during the storm\u2019s aftermath. Charles appeared on CBS Mornings and said she plans to help however she can in the precarious condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis country that I call my second home, you know, there\u2019s a lot of devastation, about three quarters of the island is devastated, underwater, especially on the western side, communications have been crippled, you know, there\u2019s families that lost their home, everything that they have, especially in St. Elizabeth, that parish, it\u2019s very gut-wrenching, it\u2019s very, leaves me emotional, and I plan to do anything that I can to help Jamaica,\u201d Charles said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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She also explained her further plans to eventually return to the US. \u201cWell, right now, my priority is to get to Ansem City, get to my mother, and get to my grandmother\u2019s house, because my mother is on that same flight with me, and I\u2019m not going to leave without her.\u201d The WNBA Community was quick to offer prayers for Tina Charles and others in the country.<\/p>\n
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Tina Charles Grim Update Unites WNBA Community In Support\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSending thoughts of love and prayers of safety to Tina and everyone in Jamaica as they weather this horrific storm.\u201d Wrote Myles Ehrlich, a senior reporter at Windsr. According to Jamaica\u2019s education minister, Dana Morris Dixon, around 77% of Jamaica was without electricity on Wednesday morning. The situation is precarious in Tina Charles\u2019 second home, and the country needs all the help they can get.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Another fan wrote in a similar sentiment, \u201cPraying for her safety and the safety of everyone in the hurricane\u2019s path.\u201d Fortunately for Tina Charles\u2019 family and the country, the worst of the hurricane has passed, but it has still left lasting damage. Charles is doing important work spreading awareness regarding just how bad the situation is.\u00a0 \u201cThank you so much, Tina, for talking about this and uplifting the Jamaican people. \u2764\ufe0f\u201d wrote a fan. In her segment with CBS, Charles also called on international committees to help the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n