Natasha Cloud wins Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award

The WNBA announced on Tuesday that Washington Mystics’ guard Natasha Cloud is the 2019 Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award recipient. This award was given to Cloud for her extraordinary achievements within the Washington D.C. community.

Cloud is known for making sure children are well taken care off and get what they need and deserve in the D.C. area especially in Ward 8, where also the Entertainment and Sports Arena is located. She’s partnered with KaBoom! Playground Build in building a new playground at Bright Beginnings Center in Southeast D.C. back in November.

Also Cloud celebrated “Christmas in July” with underprivileged families aiding in obtaining school supplies, uniforms and toys. She also met with kids with disabilities in whats called “Dream for Kids” holiday celebration.

Cloud’s most recent support of children in Ward 8 came during a visit at Hendley Elementary School with teammate Ariel Atkins, where she found out that there were multiple shootings where bullets struck the school. In turn, she and the Mystics held a media blackout in response to the shootings.

Cloud understands and knows it’s more to it than just being an athlete.

“We need faces in the community. We let the community know we are here,” said Cloud. “We let them know we want them to support us as much as we want to support them. For me, it was really important to get out to Congress Heights, a predominantly minority community. It’s important for me as a strong black female athlete to show my face and give young females an aspiration and gateway to something bigger.”

Cloud took to Instagram and Twitter to announce she had received the award. She made it clear that she believes children are the way and the future and also believes “that if you provide them with the right tools and opportunities, they will flourish.”

This will be the second time a Mystics player received the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award; former player Ivory Latta was the first back in 2017. And although Elena Delle Donne was not a Mystics player at the time, she won the award twice back to back in 2014 and 2015 with the Chicago Sky.

All in all, congratulations Natasha Cloud on this amazing accomplishment and we commend you for your efforts in putting the children of D.C. first and showing the league and the world that all you do is much bigger than the game and you’re more than just an athlete.