Support for sick kids

Michael J. Skrynecki won the Catalyst Award for creating the first organization to support families of victims of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, a rare genetic immunodeficiency disease.

He became involved a dozen years ago, when his friend, Peter Lyle, learned that his young son had a severe disease most people had never heard of.

P.J. (Peter Jr.) Lyle had Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. The syndrome, which affects only boys, strikes about one in 250,000.

Mr. Skrynecki was not a match for the bone marrow transplant that saved P.J.’s life, but he and other friends stepped in to help the Lyle family financially.

P.J.’s mother, Beth, was undergoing breast cancer treatment at the same time.

The group of friends helped to pay for P.J.’s transplant and treatment.

Then, Mr. Skrynecki decided to support other families facing these circumstances by establishing the For Pete’s Sake Foundation.

“Twelve years ago, we didn’t start with this in mind,” he said in accepting the award. “None of us do this for the personal recognition.”

In 2010, Mr. Skrynecki merged his organization with one focused on researching the disease. The combined entity is known as the Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation.

Mr. Skrynecki, a financial adviser with Morgan Stanley in Atlanta, is chairman of the foundation. It has raised $1 million and helped about 100 families.

The $20,000 award from Invest in Others Charitable Foundation will go toward assisting more families, as well as to research projects, he said.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

The foundation provides monetary and emotional support for families dealing with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, which is named after the two physicians who identified it.

The only known cure is a bone marrow transplant, but gene therapy research and experiments continue.

P.J. Lyle, Mr. Skrynecki’s inspiration, is now a healthy 13-year-old, thanks to a transplant from his sister Savannah. Though his mother survived to see P.J. recover, she lost her battle with cancer in 2003.

A certified financial planner, Mr. Skrynecki has long been active in charities and volunteerism. Morgan Stanley named him a top volunteer worldwide for 2009 and 2010.

“Charitable work allows us to give back to the community we serve,” he said.

Mr. Skrynecki, his wife, Elizabeth, and two sons live in Buckhead, a district of Atlanta.