The Community Impact Award, funded by the Lockton family, honors Associates who have gone above and beyond to make their community a better place through volunteering and philanthropy. Kristin Beauchamp was awarded a $25,000 donation to present to Advancing Sight Network – an organization that supported her after the loss of her son, Patrick. Read more about Kristin’s inspiring story from her own perspective.

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Sitting at the State of the Companies meeting this year, as Jessica began describing the recipient of the Community Impact Award, she said something along the lines of, “After losing her son…” I immediately felt empathetic and wondered who it was. She continued and mentioned organ donation, and I was shocked, thinking to myself, “Oh wow…I need to meet this person because we have so much in common…” and then she said my name. That was quite a shock for me!

In April 2021, I received the call no parent is ever prepared for: “I’m so sorry, but your son had an accident…” I knew I lived two hours away from him, so my mind began racing, figuring out how fast I could get to whichever hospital he was in. I asked the officer, “Ok…tell me where he is…I can be in Birmingham in two hours if I leave right now…” He paused and then said, “Ma’am…again, I am so sorry, but he did not survive the accident.” With those words, my life was forever changed. I lost my oldest son, Patrick, at 24 years old. The next few hours were a blur as I had to wake his brothers, make calls, and drive to Birmingham. Patrick was in the military and had just returned a few months prior from a nearly year-long deployment to Mogadishu, Somalia. I worried the entire time while he was gone, but once he was back in the States, I thought all was right with the world and that I could finally breathe again.

I received a call from a representative with Advancing Sight Network, who explained that Patrick was an organ donor and that they wanted to talk to me about retrieving his corneas. The representative was very compassionate and took the time to answer all my questions. Patrick was extremely giving in life—to his family, his friends, his community, and his country. This was a final opportunity for him to give once more.

A few months after Patrick’s funeral, I was contacted by Advancing Sight and offered the chance to visit their facility, take a tour, and see all the amazing work they are doing to help find a cure for blinding eye diseases. I was also given the privilege of writing a letter to the two individuals whose sight was restored because of Patrick’s donation. When I finished my tour of the facility and met several of the people behind the scenes, I was asked if I would like to meet Sarah, the technician who spent Patrick’s last moments with him and performed his cornea retrieval. To say it was an emotional meeting is an understatement! This began a long involvement with Advancing Sight, full of events, fundraising, and community activities to promote organ donation.

On the first anniversary of Patrick’s death, we were able to raise $2,000 to help fund a clinic in Kenya. We participated in a 5K run to encourage people to become donors. I have spoken to various groups, raising awareness and answering questions about what it’s like being a donor family. I have made amazing connections not only with the staff at Advancing Sight but also with other donor families who share the same unique perspective I do.

This award will do two primary things: purchase two cell culture incubators that are used to grow and maintain eye cells, and create the Patrick Braden Higgins Memorial Wall, where donors will be honored, and their families will be able to recognize their gifts.

I have been at Lockton for almost two years and have been constantly amazed by the generosity of both the leadership and the Associates. It is sometimes rare to find companies that give back so much and are so supportive of their Associates’ desires to do the same. I look forward to a successful career with Lockton and continued support of Advancing Sight’s mission to help cure blinding eye diseases.

Losing Patrick was a tragedy, but the greater tragedy would be if nothing good came from the loss. I am so appreciative of the Community Impact Award and knowing the assistance it will provide in purchasing this much-needed equipment to continue their research and, hopefully, one day finding the cures we need.