RIMS Foundation

About the Foundation

The RIMS Foundation is a scientific, educational, charitable and peer review foundation. It was approved by the Internal Revenue Service on June 6, 1983, as a 501(c)(3) organization. Under this designation, it may “promote health and welfare in the community by engaging in charitable, educational and scientific activities related to the field of medicine.” The RIMS Foundation may receive gifts from any individual or organization, and donations are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

Contributions have been restricted by donors to provide support for the following purposes:

Benevolence Fund​
To assist physicians and their families in financial need. The Benevolence Fund is administered by its own Trustee: Frank Sullivan, MD.

Founders Fund​
For capital improvements and major equipment purchases.

Physicians’ Health Program Fund
​To support the cost of employing one full-time clinician and one part-time administrative support professional providing services pertaining to the health of physicians, dentists, podiatrists, and PAs.

Learn more about Past Programs

Bike Helmet Distribution

From 1997 through 2014, individual members of the Rhode Island Medical Society made special donations to a fund for the purchase hundreds of bicycle helmets.

​Through a cooperative arrangement with the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, vouchers for the helmets were distributed to RIteCare families.

Each spring, RIMS volunteers distributed the helmets along with bike safety coloring books, reflective spoke sliders and other items donated by the RIMS Foundation.

Thousands of helmets were given away.

The program was supported in part by the Rhode Island Medical Society Foundation.

Tar Wars ® Anti-tobacco Education

From 1993 through 2014, the Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians, the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Rhode Island Medical Society cooperated to bring the national Tar Wars® anti-smoking educational program to fifth-graders in Rhode Island.

Physician Volunteers
Each year, roughly 70 RIMS members volunteered their time to go into as many as 51 middle schools throughout Rhode Island, where they involved up to 3500 pupils in the program. TarWars® teaches critical thinking about tobacco advertising, how to make informed choices and resist peer pressure.
 
Annual Poster Contest
Winners of school-based poster competitions participate in a state-wide poster contest in the spring.
TarWars® is now sponsored by the RI Academy of Family Physicians.
To volunteer, contact Karen Dalton: karen.riafp@gmail.com or 401-647-3595.
 
Rhode Island Tar Wars® received support from the Rhode Island Medical Society Foundation.
 
Firearm Safety- ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Campaign

ASK Day is part of a public awareness campaign working to keep kids safe from injuries involving firearms. Michael E. Migliori, MD, a past president of RIMS, chaired this event, usually held in summer when children are likely to spend time visiting friends’ homes. Parents are reminded: Ask if there is a gun where your child plays.

National ASK Day is sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The ASK campaign has already prevented countless tragedies by reaching over two million households.

ABCs of gun safety for children