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Why I Support ASAM: Stuart Gitlow, MD
Stuart Gitlow, MD, MPH, MBA, DLFAPA, DFASAM, grew up watching his father, ASAM Past President Stanley Gitlow, MD, FACP, DFASAM, live out his commitment to ASAM and the field of addiction medicine.
The younger Dr. Gitlow clearly recalls his father holding his Ruth Fox medallion in recognition of fifinancial contributions to the Society.
“ASAM has always been a big part of our lives,” said Dr. Gitlow, also an ASAM past president. “My dad put a lot of time into getting the organization off the ground back in the 50s and 60s. The fun part for me was going to ASAM meetings with him as I grew up. That made the feeling of family stronger.”
That sense of family represents Dr. Gitlow’s earliest memories of ASAM. He can still remember attending his first ASAM Board meeting as a teenager and seeing board members hugging each other.
“I walked in, and I saw all of our friends there, and they’re members of the board,” he said. “To me, these were friends of the family, and now I see they’re all working for the same organization and toward the same goal.”
The sense of family Dr. Gitlow still feels today when he thinks of ASAM is a crucial reason why he continues to support the Society like his father before him.
“That’s not something you tend to experience at other medical organizations,” he said. “And that feeling is one I’d like to see maintained over the decades. That’s what I’m supporting – ASAM as a family that I’m hoping future addiction specialists will join.”
Giving on Purpose
Dr. Gitlow thinks of giving to ASAM as an investment, likening it to maintaining and investing in one’s home.
“It’s my professional home,” he said about ASAM. “Of course, I will support it because I want it to continue and thrive. The idea is that I’ve invested huge amounts of time, energy, and effort in ASAM, and it’s my home. I don’t want to be 85 years old and find my home is gone. I will continue to do whatever is necessary to see that my home is well taken care of. That’s my way of looking at it.”
Dr. Gitlow said there are multiple reasons to support ASAM financially, but two immediately come to his mind.
“One is selfish: I can save money on my taxes by donating money,” he said. “The second reason is selfless: this is something that will help the young people coming up behind me who want to enter the field of addiction medicine. It will help the patients that I haven’t been able to see by making sure there are addiction specialist clinicians out there to treat them.”
Having previously divided his donations among multiple foundations and organizations, Dr. Gitlow said, “Last year, I gave a more substantial gift to ASAM. By giving a more significant gift to one place, less is allocated to overhead. It might be more useful and help to achieve more good.”
Dr. Gitlow said ASAM members can contribute to the Society in several ways. One-time or recurring contributions to the Treat Addiction Save Lives Fund or the Ruth Fox Memorial Endowment Fund can be made through ASAM’s website. Donors can also contribute through a Donor Advised Fund, as well as through bequests, matching gifts, IRA charitable rollovers, gifts of stock, beneficiary designations, and online fundraising.
