The Scottish-American Society of Rhode Island has chosen two official charities for 2025. A $500 donation was made to RI Community Food Bank, and a $500 donation to the The Folio Trust. In addition, a $100 donation was made to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Cranston, home of our Scottish Dancers.

The RI Community Food Bank provided food for over 89,000 people each month last year, distributing more than 18.6 million pounds to the hungry. If you wish to make a personal donation, visit https://rifoodbank.org/

The Folio Trust, formerly known as the James Thin Charitable Trust, is a registered Scottish Charity since 1998.  This Trust was chosen because of its breadth of giving which includes Refugee Relief, Nature Conservation, and Youth Recreation and Education.  Please see the Annual Report for information about how this money is distributed. Andrew Thin, manager of the Trust stated, “By far the largest of these was an initiative to bring young women to Scotland from Afghanistan to study medicine at Edinburgh University. The others were all community related projects – community boating on the canal in Edinburgh; providing hot coffee and rolls for homeless people in Edinburgh; canoeing equipment for disadvantaged kids using the canal out towards Falkirk; community run shop and visitor information on Barra; kids running club on Barra.”

In addition to its annual charitable donations, the Scottish-American Society also offers the John & Betty MacLean Scholarship to any Rhode Island resident and graduating senior.  This scholarship is a one-time award of $1,000 paid directly to the educational institution for future educational expenses.  Visit https://sasri.org/scholarship/ for more information.

Past Charities:

McAuley Ministries is the local charity of the Society.  McAuley Ministries is an independent non-profit organization sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, and rooted in the ideals of their founder Catherine McAuley.  This ministry provides the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health services, emotional support and guidance to the most vulnerable in our community.  If you wish to make a personal donation, please visit www.mcauleyri.org.