Champion of Donation

Champion of Donation Jim Allmon

As a Chief Deputy Coroner in Sangamon County, Jim Allmon knows the importance of eye, organ and tissue donation. Jim also serves on the Lifesaving Leaders Collective, a group of community leaders from the Springfield, IL area who are committed to serving the residents of Springfield and advocating to make organ and tissue donation the social norm.

“On May 7, 2017, we lost one of our five beautiful daughters,” shared Jim. “Losing Maddie altered our lives. As a Chief Deputy Coroner in Sangamon County, I investigate death and talk to families who have experienced loss every day. But nothing in my 16 years on the job could even have prepared me or my family for this devastating loss.”

“I got the call from the police dispatcher about the incident, and then I received another call saying it was Maddie. I remember not knowing how I was going to tell Maddie’s sisters, and thinking there must have been a mistake. The hardest conversation was with my wife, Courtney, as I explained that there still was time to allow Maddie to donate.”

Maddie’s gift has touched approximately 67 lives, including the life of a 5-year-old girl who received a cornea transplant.

This year, their family decided to give back to their community after all the kindness they were shown during their time of tragedy. They held a Golfing Outing with the goal of raising money for a scholarship to be given to a New Berlin High School senior. Due to the generosity of the community, they exceeded their goal of a onetime scholarship by raising enough to give five scholarships this year, and one every year until Maddie’s youngest sister graduates from high school.