Mercy receives $1.65M in donations

Mercy Springfield Communities announced today it received three donations totaling $1.65 million for children's care services.

Philanthropist Bobby Allison, who last year donated $2 million for the Betty and Bobby Allison Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mercy Hospital Springfield, has increased his donation by $650,000, according to a news release.

“It’s not really a gift from me. It’s a gift to me. I get a lot more out of it than I put in - than I could ever put in," Bobby Allison said in the release.

A $500,000 donation came from Charles Eggers, whose 19-year-old daughter, Christy, was killed in a car crash. Eggers invested the insurance money from the wreck and from her checking account to raise funding for children's services, according to Mercy.

Another $500,000 donation came from Mercy Health Auxiliary, a volunteer group providing assistance to the hospital. The donation is earmarked for Mercy's Family Resource Center, which operates educational programs such as childbirth classes.

The donations were originally announced by the Mercy Health Foundation during its annual dinner at the end of September, the release said.