Bills fans donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Oishei Children’s Hospital after hearing quarterback Josh Allen’s grandmother, Patricia Allen, passed away in September. Donations have now exceeded one million dollars after one fan Monday donated $217,000.
Sue McCollum, who now lives in Saint Louis, donated to the Patricia Allen Fund at Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo.
McCollum, who grew up in Amherst, is a die-hard Bills fan who made her donation in memory of her parents, Frederick D. and Joan R. McCollum, who were also Bills fans and lovers of Western New York. McCollum noted her appreciation of the Bills Mafia fan base that started the donations to Oishei Children's Hospital, following the death of quarterback Josh Allen's grandmother Patricia Allen in the fall. McCollum's great-nephew receives care at the hospital monthly to get infusions for a rare autoimmune disease.
Bills fans have made a habit the past few years of donating to charities for a variety of reasons.
When former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw a TD pass to end the BIlls 17-year playoff drought, over $400,000 was raised for his charity. When a Baltimore sports radio host called Buffalo a city of losers last January, they raised over $7,000 to the Alzheimer's Association in his name, since his mother suffered from the disease.
And Monday, after months of raising money in the name of Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen’s late grandmother, McCollum's donation pushed the number over $1 million.
McCollum is the owner and CEO of two Anheuser-Busch distributors in South Florida. According to McCollum’s niece, McCollum wanted to get involved when donations started coming in.
It started with $17 dollar increments, Josh Allen’s number, in September. By November, the total had reached $700,000 and Oishei Children’s Hospital had established an official Patricia Allen fund.
In a statement, the hospital says the fund will allow for ongoing support to the pediatric critical care team at OCH who provide life-saving care to pediatric patients.
