Eugene Krizek

Eugene "Gene" Krizek (1928) is the founder of Christian Relief Services, Inc.
Among the nonprofit organizations he founded under the umbrella of Christian Relief Services Charities, is Running Strong for American Indian Youth® which he co-founded with Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota Sioux who grew up orphaned on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Krizek also founded the charity Bread and Water for Africa® whose national spokesperson is Phyllis Keino and who operates the Lewa Children’s Home in Kenya today. He also founded Americans Helping Americans® serving the needy in distressed areas of Appalachia.
Early life
Gene Krizek was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in the suburb of Garfield Heights in 1927 . He attended Case Western Reserve University. Krizek served on Western’s student council. He and his peers petitioned both the student council and the athletic committee for backing for a fencing team. Rostrum debate society at Case Western provided a forum for Gene to sharpen his oratory and debate skills, which proved rather useful for his later career in Washington D.C.
Political career
Krizek served on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. as Chief of Staff to Congressman Charles Vanik from Ohio. In 1961, Krizek was appointed by the Kennedy administration to head up the Special Liaison Office of the Department of State. Krizek was the Director of Congressional Services in the Office of Congressional Relations at the U.S. State Department. In that role, he managed to pass a bill that allowed 137,000 Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees settle in the United States. This achievement was applauded by the time in a letter from President Gerald Ford. In 1975, Krizek was awarded a presidential commendation for his work on the Indo China Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, which aided thousands of refugees following the Vietnam War. Krizek is still being recognized for this tremendous effort today. In 2010, he was an honored guest of the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans’ National Conference.
Personal life
Krizek is a current resident of the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County. He is married to Addy Krizek, and together they raised 3 sons, including Delegate Paul Krizek who currently represents the 44th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. He and his wife, Addy Krizek, were active with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. He served on the Board of Directors and was the founding director of the Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation.He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Christian Relief Services as Founder and President Emeritus.

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