Touro Fraternal Association, headquartered in Cranston, proudly made a $25,000 special allocation to the Miriam Hospital’s new Center for Innovative Cancer Research.

Touro’s donation will be utilized by the Providence hospital, which plans to convert office space into a state-of-the-art center that will contain four oncology suites for clinical trials of new cancer drugs.

“Touro has always had a special connection with Miriam Hospital,” said Barry Schiff of Cranston, chairman of Touro’s Community Involvement Committee. “Our organization has had a long history of supporting Miriam, which was founded in 1926 by the mothers of eight Jewish doctors who were told their sons were not allowed to practice medicine at another hospital in Rhode Island.”

Last year, Touro donated meals to the frontline workers at Miriam at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miriam is one of many charitable causes supported on an annual basis by Touro, the largest independent Jewish fraternal organization in the Northeast. Other beneficiaries this year have included Jewish Collaborative Services, the Louis and Goldie Chester Kosher Food Pantry, Camp JORI, the URI Hillel, Operation Stand Down, the Rhode Island Military Organization, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Crossroads Rhode Island and Amos House.

More information on Touro is available at www.tourofraternal.org or by calling (401) 785-0066.