BMS Foundation - Bristol Myers Squibb - Our stories
Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation’s touches of compassion impact communities around the world
Health equity has been a buzzword the past few years. But it’s been woven into the fabric of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation’s mission for more than two decades, bringing help and hope to people around the world who are often seemingly forgotten.
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BMS is a company that cares about the entire patient. And their support of the Foundation allows us to develop and test models of care that ensure vulnerable populations can benefit from medical innovations.”John Damonti, President, BMS Foundation |
He said the Foundation’s reach is deep, and has the ability to function like a public health institute, identifying gaps in care and taking a long-term approach by creating programs and systems to help people regardless of where they live.
And you can see those touches of compassion all over the globe.
In 2022:
annual
operating budget
in employee
donations matched
Growing our work in sub-Saharan Africa
In 2024, the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation will mark 25 years of working in Africa, a partnership that began at the height of the continent’s HIV/AIDS epidemic and has since expanded to address other serious diseases, including pediatric, lung and cervical cancers.
Two Foundation programs building diversity
in clinical trials
Conversations about diversity in clinical trials typically focus on ensuring the participants come from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds. But an often-overlooked step is making sure the medical professionals who conduct the trials also have diverse backgrounds.
Programs training a new generation of pharmacists
Richie Uba knows what it’s like when people don’t have access to medications. Growing up in Nigeria, he saw it firsthand when his grandmother died because she couldn’t get insulin. That personal loss inspired Uba to pursue a profession in pharmacy that eventually led him to Bristol Myers Squibb.
Employee Giving Program
The BMS Foundation matches employee donations to eligible organizations, doubling the amount that reaches the charity.
total donated to
charities in 2022
hours volunteered through Volunteer Award Program in 2022
Multiplying volunteer impact
Brian Doel, vice president, Global Clinical Supply Chain, first thought about becoming a firefighter after seeing the United Kingdom’s volunteer lifeboatmen as a child. His hometown of Holme Hale in England was not near the sea, but firefighting was another way he could help others. He waited to be old enough to join a squad, but where he attended university, in Nottingham, the city only employed full-time firefighters. It wasn’t until he moved to New Jersey that he got his chance – he saw a call for volunteers with Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Co. #1.
Fifteen years later, he’s the chief officer of the company, with specialized training in vehicle extraction, water rescue and other emergency response needs.
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Being able to connect to the local community and make a difference in people’s lives is what keeps me engaged — from small issues of changing batteries on a smoke detector to pulling an injured motorist from a car.” |
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Brian Doel, Vice President, Global Clinical Supply Chain |
Not only has Doel volunteered his time (an admirable 10-15 hours each week, on average), the Foundation has awarded donations in Doel’s name in recognition of his dedicated service. With the Employee Volunteer Award Program (EVAP), eligible BMS employees who volunteer 50 hours in a calendar year can receive a $500 donation from the Foundation to their cause. In all, employees volunteered more than 5,000 hours toward the program last year.
“I would encourage everyone to volunteer in their community,” said Doel. “And the EVAP is a great way to help support your organization – the donation from BMS Foundation has helped our members to train and to purchase equipment.”