Support Philip Kreycik's Family

Hi all,

My name is Tom Wooten, and I'm starting a fundraiser to support the family of Philip Kreycik. Philip disappeared Saturday, July 10, while on a trail run on Pleasanton Ridge near Pleasanton, CA. I have known Philip since we attended college together, and I have also gotten to know his extended family well because I lived with his uncle for a year.

The family has agreed to let me set up this gofundme to help them during this time. I can attest that these are some of the kindest, most honest, and least materialistic people I know. They want to put the money to good use helping with the search or with expenses that come afterward. Hopefully, the search will have a wonderful outcome soon and they won't need everything that is raised. If that's the case, they plan to donate the remaining funds to a good cause that will honor the hard work of professional and volunteer searchers and the tremendous community support that folks in and around Pleasanton have shown.

First and foremost, Philip's family wants to convey just how grateful they are for the groundswell of help they have received during the search. As Philip's wife Jen wrote to me, giving feedback on an earlier draft of this message: "The only thing I wanted to make more clear, and front and center, is that we are so incredibly grateful of the extremely large amount of support we have gotten on the ground, from people walking the trails to people donating food, and helping with all aspects of our lives, including doing Keith and Marcia’s [Philip's parents'] laundry. "

I want to share a few stories about how fantastic Philip's family is. Philip has a close, trusting, and joyful relationship with his wife, Jen. Philip is a very gifted endurance athlete, and Jen is less strong but up for a good adventure. Within weeks of when they started dating, Philip and Jen embarked on a ~24 hour tandem bicycle ride from Boston to the Canadian border. They were a perfect team. Whenever Jen got tired, she would stop pedaling and cross her legs over the top tube of the bike. To navigate, she would spread a paper map out across his back and call out directions. She also worked the music playlist for their small, portable bluetooth speaker and fed Philip bananas while he kept his hands on the bars.

Philip's extended family is also very close, and they have drawn on those bonds and remained thoughtful about one another during this terrible time. Philip's sister and uncle and their partners came out to the Bay Area to help with the search. When I offered to give Philip's father a digital tour of the Find Philip Kreycik Facebook group, he insisted that he wanted the whole family to take part so that all of them would feel ownership of the site. Everyone gathered over Zoom: most of the family crowded into a hotel room, an aunt and uncle joining in from out of state, me signing on from Boston. I almost started crying when Philip's father suggested that, now that everyone was assembled, the first order of business should be to sing happy birthday to a family member.

Philip's family has pulled together and rallied. A strong community is rallying with them, made up of a beautiful mix of Philip's friends and people who have never met Philip. That support is what is most important. But, if you have the means, please consider donating. It is hard to adequately convey how grateful Philip's family is. As Jen wrote to me: "A hidden part [of helping] that I think people realize but it’s often less recognized, is that it makes this incredibly lonely journey feel less alone. I’m sure you can put it more eloquently." Actually, I can't. 

-Tom

PS - The last photo is me with Philip, Philip's son, and Philip's mom in Yellowstone at Philip's uncle's wedding.
PPS - Some of you have already made direct donations to the family. Thanks so much for your support, and please do not see this gofundme as a request to donate again.