Peninsula Teen Uses Financial Prowess To Help Victims Of Domestic Violence

Like many a young man, Nick Jaeger has fond memories of bonding with his grandfather while they poured over the small print in the back of a newspaper.

Though, for Jaeger and his grandfather, it wasn't the box scores in the sports pages they were looking at. It was ticker symbols in the business section.

"I just thought it was fascinating that one could go from a ticker symbol ... to a living, breathing company you could become a part of," Jaeger said.

Jaeger says his curiosity in all things financial has only grown since then. It wasn't, however, until he started volunteering at CORA, a San Mateo domestic violence services organization, that his curiosity met it's compassionate match.

As part of a class project his freshman year at Portola Valley's Woodside Priory School, Nick began volunteering at CORA. It was an eye opener for sure.

"The idea that I should be thankful to be safe in my own house was so foreign to me," Jaeger said.

Jaeger began his volunteer effort doing not much more than moving boxes and painting walls. But as his understanding of the struggles of domestic violence sufferers grew, he wanted to do more.

Jaeger eventually began giving presentations to his peers, even teaching courses in domestic violence awareness at his school. It is his latest endeavor, though, that has garnered the most attention.

"I have this background in finance and I wanted to leverage it and do something weird, something that might get some attention," Jaeger said.

Jaeger decided to raise money for CORA, eventually $85,000, the put it into an investment fund, one that he would manage and hopefully turn it into even more money.

Jaeger has already be recognized for his unique approach, winning the Breakthrough Inspiration Award. What Jaeger says he really wants to do, though, is simply spark a conversation and get more people aware of the dangers of domestic violence.

Jaeger plans to manage his fund until he graduates high school, then donate the entirety of it CORA. 

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