SOURCE: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
BY: Ira Winderman

Moved to action after seeing a disturbing television report of the stabbing murder of a 28-year-old Ontario single mother who left behind a son with cerebral palsy, Miami Heat center Jamaal Magloire has reached out to the family.

A Toronto native, Magloire said he was heartbroken after learning of the death of Lucita Charles and the circumstances of the family. He has agreed to pay the funeral costs and is in the process of establishing a trust fund for her 7-year-old special-needs son, having previously known neither.

"Now that the mother is gone, it really took its toll on what's going to happen to the child now," said Magloire, who remains in contact with the victim's sister. "A lot of times, when we see crimes on TV, we don't know what we can do to help, we just kind of feel this sense of sympathy. I don't want to do it by words, I want to do it by example."

The 32-year-old 10-year NBA veteran said he plans to make a "substantial contribution" to the child's trust fund and make the family part of his fundraising activities.

"I've already tried to help other people who are going through turmoil," he said, "but this is something that I'm really trying to get to take off"

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