Top tennis players who have made a mark beyond the tennis court

The Vijay Amritraj Foundation

The Vijay Amritraj Foundation helps the victims of disease, tragedy and circumstance in India.

Vijay Amritraj began his philanthropic activities when he became the eighth UN Messenger for Peace in 2001. In his six-year association with the UN, he became actively involved in spreading awareness about HIV-AIDS and substance abuse.

After completing his tenure as Messenger for Peace, Amritraj felt the need to do more for the people. “You need to be an example to the next generation that comes along,” he once said. And thus was born The Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2006. The mission statement of the foundation reads – “The foundation brings hope, help and healing to the defenseless and innocent victims of disease, tragedy and circumstance in India.”

This foundation is quite different from the others mentioned above as it does not have an academy or a campus of its own. It instead generates funds that are then donated to various charitable organizations in India to aid in their activities. The organizations supported include Prajwala (an organization that rescues and rehabilitates children sold into prostitution), Parikrama Humanity Foundation (an organization that provides health care and education to children in slums) and Mitra Jyothi (a charitable entity that provides education and imparts training in life skills to blind women), to name a few.