Wyrick Scholarship Available

The Foster Adoptive Mission (FAM) has amended its Kay Wyrick scholarship to include students from any town in Connecticut.

This annual $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a current or former foster youth of color who plans a career in the community in social services or a related field and who most closely embodies Mrs Wyrick’s ideals.

Katherine “Kay” Wyrick, a lifelong community activist for social justice, was born on May 18, 1923, and lived in Waterbury for many years. She was a ward of the state from age 13 until she was 21.

She was a longtime volunteer who worked with abused, neglected, and pregnant youth. She surmounted overwhelming odds to become a community leader in Connecticut.

Ms Wyrick was brought to Waterbury as a domestic caretaker. Several years later, she decided to become a foster parent. Mrs Wyrick and her husband James nurtured more than 75 young adults by helping them stay off the streets develop good work habits and learn the value of money. She established a group home for girls, and Ms Wyrick crusaded against racial injustice throughout her life. She was a lifetime member of the NAACP and fought to have black history taught in local schools.

Over the course of 55 years of service, Mrs Wyrick received numerous awards for her commitment to young people. She was, in fact, honored by the Waterbury Bar Association as the first recipient of the Liberty Award. She was also honored by the NAACP as the first to receive the Region II Youth Advisor Award. She was one of five people to earn the Connecticut Jefferson Award given to people who go above and beyond the call of duty volunteering in their community.

She encouraged children to get an education and pressed parents to be involved in their children’s educational goals. She urged men to be fathers to their children and she encouraged adults to be role models to youth. Mrs Wyrick’s determination and dedication to young people make her the perfect role model and inspiration for today’s foster youth.

Mrs Wyrick died July 12, 2006, at the age of 83. FAM chose to recognize her with scholarship a scholarship named in her honor because of her consistent devotion to the well-being of young people.

Applications for 2011 consideration are due by April 1. Full details are available and an application can be downloaded from FosterAdoptiveMission.org. Additional information is also available by calling FAM at 877-550-4326 (4FAM).