Eugene T. Wyka, 1980, and Lucy M. Wyka, 1982, Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Service
April 10, 2016
Alumni Gene and Lucy Wyka shared no special moment on campus when they were both students. They met through campus friends in summer of 1982, after Gene Wyka had already graduated. That the two would eventually start an organization — Gift of Adoption Fund — that would support more than 1,700 adoptions of vulnerable children to families who desperately wanted them, is the last thing either of them would have expected.
The couple have been recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with its Distinguished Alumni Award for Community Service, which will be presented to the couple, with Gene Wyka receiving it posthumously, at the university’s annual Founders Day event on Saturday, April 16, 2016.
Lucy Wyka, who graduated in 1982 with a BBA in general business, initially worked in mortgages at a Savings and Loan for eight years and then earned a master’s degree in library sciences at UW-Milwaukee. Not long after Gene Wyka graduated with a B.S. in psychology, he became legally blind as a result of Type 1 diabetes and unable to drive. He went on to found the Crisis Prevention Institute, an organization that specializes in nonviolent crisis intervention.
“Gene lived with so much pain,” said Wyka. “Losing his eyesight at age 21. He lost so much, and he never, ever complained. He was a good, caring soulful man with a great sense of humor. A true inspiration.”
When the two sought to start a family through adoption in 1989, they found few agencies willing to work with them, because of their health issues. When they finally did succeed in being matched with their first son, Joseph, they flew to Peru for what was supposed to be two weeks and ended up languishing for four months as the adoption process dragged on. The couple felt fortunate to have the financial ability and professional flexibility to do so.
Knowing few would have such resources, the couple went on to found the Gift of Adoption Fund in 1996 so that others seeking to adopt could have more support. The organization grew steadily, becoming a 501c3 in 2000 and, in 2007, moving its headquarters from Port Washington to the Chicago area. The national organization, which prioritizes grants toward the adoption of the most vulnerable children, makes awards of up to $7,500 to families regardless of race, religion, age or marital status, with a total of $5 million awarded to date.
The couple went on to adopt Nathaniel, now 23, in the U.S. and Liana, now 18, in Guatemala. Before Gene Wyka passed away from complications from diabetes in the fall of 2015, the two shared their hopes for the organization they founded together.
“We just hoped that it will continue to grow and bring children home to parents who want families,” said Wyka.