Timothy S. Wambach '92

Founder, Keep On Keeping On Foundation
April 2016

Timothy S. Wambach ’92 first heard the mantra “Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.” in the English class of Daniel Seeberg ‘75. The phrase struck a chord with Wambach, then a junior at Loyola, and it has remained a source of inspiration for him over the years. “I think it originates from the Marines,” Wambach says, “but it really has become my life’s motto.”

This summer, Wambach will set out to repeat his 2005 charity run from Orlando to Chicago—running 30 miles a day for 40 straight days—to raise funds and awareness for the Keep On Keeping On Foundation, or Team KOKO.

Wambach founded Team KOKO, a non-profit organization assisting those living with severe physical disabilities, with fellow Loyola alumni David A. Kunicki ’95 and Daniel P. Joyce ‘95. “They were both instrumental in my first run back in 2005,” says Wambach. “If not for either of them, there would be no KOKO.” Today, Wambach serves as the foundation’s president.

Wambach is also the managing director and lead actor of Handicap This! Productions, an entertainment & education company that Wambach began in 2010 with Mike Berkson who lives with cerebral palsy. Together they promote a message of inclusion and acceptance while speaking and performing across the country.

“My relationship with Mike has been more than a friendship,” Wambach says of his bond with Berkson. “It is so multi-layered. It started as me being his one-on-one aide in school, and it has blossomed into a partnership of making a difference. If you would have told me fifteen years ago that our relationship would be what it is today, I don’t think I could have possibly imagined this.”

Wambach’s deep commitment to service for others began to emerge during his time at Loyola. In his junior and senior years, Wambach spent spring break doing service work in Appalachia. “These trips really built upon my passion to help others,” he says.

This passion continues to drive Wambach to dream big and achieve extraordinary things. On October 9, just one day after the completion of his run from Orlando to Chicago, Wambach plans to run in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. He’ll be running on behalf of the Danny Did Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing awareness of epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy—started by Loyola Academy brothers Michael T. Stanton ’88 and Thomas F. Stanton ’94.

“I guess you could say that because of Loyola the Danny Did Foundation was on our radar,” Wambach said.

Of his partnership with fellow alumni Wambach comments, “We feel that Loyola is a special place for all of us, and when you share that common bond it is an instant rapport builder.”

Reflecting on Loyola’s motto, Women and Men for Others, Wambach says, “Loyola’s motto is something that I live each and every day. My work with KOKO and Handicap This! has touched many lives—we have purchased hospital beds, wheelchairs and physical therapy, widened doorways and even put an elevator in a home—and we are just getting started.”

Handicap This! has ambitious and specific goals for the next several years which Wambach enumerates: 1) to perform “Handicap This!” on Broadway by September 2017; 2) to have a major motion picture made about Wambach and Berkson’s relationship; 3) to host Saturday Night Live; and 4) to distribute its digital online product in thousands of schools across the globe.

The future certainly looks bright for Wambach and the two organizations he leads. The work of Team KOKO and Handicap This! has already been featured online by the Chicago Tribune and ABC 7 Chicago. A scholarship has been created in Wambach’s name at Northeastern Illinois University to honor his 2005 charity run from Orlando to Chicago.

Today, Wambach lives in Des Plaines with his wife, Sarah, who serves as graphic designer and social media manager at Handicap This! in addition to owning her own small business, Hues & Booze, Inc. They plan to start a family after this summer’s run.

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