We show our student-athletes examples of great plays, athletic achievement and academic success, but what about examples of charitable involvement?

Tina Charles, a former UConn student-athlete, is one such example who epitomizes doing well and doing good.

Charles was the first pick in the 2010 WNBA draft and has since secured Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors and four WNBA All-Star nominations. Charles spent her undergraduate career at the University of Connecticut where she led her UConn to (2) NCAA championships while winning the John R. Wooden Award in 2010 as the top women’s collegiate basketball player.

Her off-court achievements are equally impressive. Charles will donate half of her salary from the 2015 season to Hopey’s Heart, a charity she started after her aunt died of multiple organ failure in 2013.

“It means a lot just to keep the awareness out there about sudden cardiac arrest,” Charles said. “Taking an interest in others is key in my life. It’s my way of giving back. My passion of placing AEDs. Anything I can do to impact an institution with an AED is extremely important to me.” (more here)

The former Uconn student-athlete has also supported efforts she first became of aware of in college. In 2012, she donated $32,000 to build a school in Ganale, a village in Mali in western Africa. Charles was able to build the school by working with buildOn, a Stamford, CT charity, and through the aid of Mary Fanaro, the CEO of OmniPeace, which bills itself as a humanitarian fashion brand.

“My sophomore year in college, I was looking at websites and I saw Jennifer Aniston in a T-Shirt that said OmniPeace,” Charles said. “I did some research and found out the charity’s apparel line goes toward the goal of ending poverty in Africa by 2025. Later, I was able to meet [actress] Mary Fanaro and I told her I wanted to build a school.” (more here)

Charles is a great example of the importance of exposing our student-athletes to causes and celebrities who are using their platforms to influence social good. After discovering a charity on a website, she built the foundation for a long career of making a difference.

Read more about the contributions of the former UConn student-athlete: