Too Important To Forget
IllustrationStory★★★★At fourteen, Andrea Jaeger won her first professional tennis tournament. At eighteen, she reached the finals of Wimbledon. At nineteen, a shoulder injury ended her career. Now at twenty-nine, she is perfecting a different kind of serve; Jaeger works with the Kids’ Stuff Foundation, a nonprofit organization that brings some joy to children who are suffering from cancer or other life-threatening illnesses.
Jaeger not only is the creator of the program but also runs it full time, year-round, unpaid. “You get very spoiled on the pro tour,” she says.
“The courtesy cars, the five-star hotels, all the people clapping because you hit a good shot. It’s easy to forget what’s important in life.” She goes on to say, “I forget a lot less lately.”
The point
A professional tennis player whose career ended by injury redirected her gifts to full-time unpaid work bringing joy to dying children.