The PIDS Foundation is a key player in fulfilling the goals of our Society. The Foundation directs and manages funds for our current fellowship awards, vaccine education efforts, and houses an investment account that we use to advance many of our ongoing initiatives. With your help the Foundation can do even more, and I’m asking for your help as we start a new initiative Campaign 2022: Advancing the Field of Pediatric ID. Here are our campaign focus areas:
- We need to increase diversity in our specialty. The PIDS Inclusion, Diversity, Access & Equity Taskforce has identified a mentoring opportunity to help advance the early career development of underrepresented minority faculty in pediatric ID. Because it is a rigorous program and a commitment, it takes significant resources to do this. We are asking our members to help raise $20,000 to fund a position.
- We want to support research careers in our specialty. We do this through our larger annual fellowship awards but the Board believes we can do more. We aim to raise $20,000 annually to support additional competitive research fellowship awards for fellows entering research-intensive careers. These awards will add to our existing fellowship portfolio and maintain our emphasis on supporting pediatric ID research careers.
- We also have an unrestricted category where the funds go to the area of greatest need, including our efforts to promote pediatric ID as a specialty and to produce educational materials to help all our fellowship programs. Many of you have given to this fund in the past. This year our goal in unrestricted giving is $10,000.
We encourage you to consider giving to one or more of these three campaign areas. To say “thank you” to all who give, we have a special PIDS gift for you according to the levels of giving below. I promise to provide updates to our membership as this campaign moves along, and thanks for your support of PIDS!
Giving Levels
- $50 – PIDS Mug
- $100 – PIDS Water Bottle
- $250 – PIDS Scarf or Tie
- $500 – PIDS Swag Bag and Baseball Cap
