About Jamie Boone & His Family

Jamie Boone, the youngest of 5 boys in the Boone family. He grew up in Central Illinois. Jamie was a National Honor Society member and was a member of his high school’s Life Saver student mentoring program. Jamie graduated  with his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Agriculture and Consumer Economics Sciences (ACES). Jamie was about to start an internship for KPMG as an audit intern. Jamie was a past captain of the Scarab’s of the Adventure Club, as an extra-curricular. Jamie had been accepted into the GIES College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to study for his Master’s Degree in Accounting.  

Jamie was a loving son, brother, boyfriend and friend.  He was caring. compassionate and a sarcastic jokester to all he met. Often, Jamie would catch people off-guard with his unique handshake. This would put people at ease and this made him easily relatable. Jamie had a unique handshake where he would take his two partially amputated fingers and tickle the other person's palm. (He lost two fingers on his right hand as a result of a childhood accident.) Jamie looked for the good in everyone and was a natural planner and uniter. He believed everyone is special and needs to be loved. The Jamie Boone Project believes that also. Jamie was his own worse critic, but he would never let anyone see that side of him. He encouraged people to seek help and to look for various ways to cope 'with' and 'in' the world around them. Jamie sadly lost his battle at the age of 21  because of bullying, depression and medical issues. While he was great at giving advice to others about how to push through, he chose a much sadder path. He didn’t understand the ripple effects of his actions. HE MATTERED! So many people loved him, and he didn’t even realize. This was our motivation to create J.A.M.I.E. Bags and The Jamie Boone Project. 

While we who loved Jamie are crushed by his loss, we cannot bear the thought of anyone else losing their battle with depression, bullying, anxiety, or any other reason. There is no reason because YOU MATTER. You matter so much we have created some stress bags for those times when you need just a little help to get through a moment. We have created these with you in mind. We call these bags J.A.M.I.E. Bags. We have included various activities and items that are all geared to get a person through a difficult moment and steer people towards help. We promote the use of the #988 suicide hotline and #741741 help line. #YouMatter #TomorrowNeedsYou  

About Jamie's Parents: Johnny and Anita Boone

Johnny and Anita Boone are married with 5 sons. The “yours, mine and ours” theory works well in their blended home. Anita is from Minnesota and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Southwest Minnesota State University. Anita also  earned her Master’s Degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She has two sisters and works at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a Grants and Contracts Coordinator (Where her son Jamie had graduated from and was about to start his Master’s in Accounting.) 

 Anita has served as treasurer for our former church and has initiated and led a Bible study group for young, busy mothers in the congregation. She has also been a member of the board and treasurer for a local domestic violence shelter. Currently, Anita is on the board of the nonprofit organization in St Joseph, Illinois called “Haley’s Harvest Farm.” Anita is a co-founder of The Jamie Boone Project and a constant inspiration to her husband. 

Johnny and Anita are members of a local church and have been married for 25+ years. 

 Johnny, a retired Disabled United Marine Corps Veteran from Central Illinois, is also a co-founder of The Jamie Boone Project. Johnny has volunteered in several capacities at a local domestic violence shelter and their thrift shop. Johnny was “requested” into attending an online grieving parents meeting by his wife and children. It is at this meeting that the idea for J.A.M.I.E. Bags was formed. Johnny heard about a mother getting a stress bag from a church because of her loss of her daughter. Johnny, exited the meeting and began researching and developing some sort of “Stress Bags” for teens, veterans, and first responders.   It has been a mission since that day to help people choose one more minute. The Boone Family wants no other person to choose to not see tomorrow. The Boone Family wants no other parents, brothers or sisters to feel this most painful of heartbreaks.  #Let’sMakeSuicideUnfashionable               

Join us in our quest to show our community, our children, our veterans and ALL of our neighbors that they do indeed matter and they are important.