Jim Maloof, a prominent Peoria businessman, was invited to a fundraising event in Chicago where Danny Thomas was speaking to raise funds for a children’s research hospital. Jim, who later became the mayor of Peoria, became fast friends with Danny and shared his vision to eradicate childhood cancer. Jim began fundraising in the Peoria area, proving to Danny that Peoria could financially support an affiliate of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. After an incredibly successful fundraising campaign, the St. Jude Affiliate Clinic in Peoria was opened in 1972 just 10 years after St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened its doors in Memphis. It was the first domestic affiliate for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. www.osfhealthcare.org/childrens/services/cancer/st-jude-affiliate-clinic/

Today, that legacy continues with Jim’s son, Michael Maloof, President of JimMaloof/REALTOR^® and with the extensive network of our agents who donate and volunteer to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We continue the mission in the Peoria Area through our company and agents. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.