National NOW Times >> Spring 2006  >> Article

Remembering Sandy, As She Remembered Us

By Liz Gilchrist, Director of Major Gifts/Planned Giving

Sandra Michlin

Sandra Flo Michlin was a passionate believer in the rights of women. Much of her professional life as a family law attorney was devoted to helping women making a better life for themselves, particularly those who had been the victims of abuse.

Her commitment to supporting women led Michlin to doing something quite special back in 1992—she decided to make NOW the primary beneficiary in her will. By the time of her untimely death last year at age 59, Michlin's already generous bequest to NOW had grown into a very substantial gift that will continue to provide support for our work on behalf of women and girls for years to come.

Sandra Michlin lived life to the fullest, despite many difficulties that came her way. Her family and friends describe her as a "brassy, funny, outrageous and outgoing woman" who loved children and loved her dog and best companion, Diva. She grew up on Long Island and went to college in Boston, followed by law school at Antioch University. When her life-long health problems made it difficult for her to work full-time, she opened her own law practice in New Jersey and became an advocate for women, volunteering for Legal Services and the Domestic Violence Clinic. Michlin felt a special affinity for women who were victims of domestic abuse, having survived abusive relationships herself.

Despite battling depression at various times in her life, Michlin made many friends through her local Jewish Community Center and through the internet. She loved to travel to visit her friends, including sojourns to Hawaii, Australia and Israel. Sandra was not an active member of NOW while she lived. But that did not stop her from ultimately entrusting us with the gift of the assets that she had built up over her lifetime.

As one of her associates wrote after Michlin's death: "Sandra Michlin believed in the mission of the National Organization of Women: to bring about equality for all women. One of the reasons she became an attorney was to promote equality and justice for women. She provided legal representation to women who were victims of domestic violence and those needing assistance in becoming independent. Sandra was also a strong proponent of women's reproductive rights. Sandra viewed NOW as the organization that protected women's rights both through its advocacy work as well as through support of women candidates for political office."

Sandra Michlin was a special person whose passionate belief in women will live on in many ways—especially because she chose to include NOW in her will. Anyone can make a commitment to a feminist future, as Michlin did, by making a bequest or other planned gift to NOW or the NOW Foundation. Supporters who choose to let us know of their intended gift, through a will, trust or life insurance, will be enrolled as members of the Visionary Circle, which honors all those—like Sandra Michlin—who know the importance of making sure that NOW remains a dynamic and vital institution fighting for the rights of all women, both now and always.

Thank you, Sandy. We remember you and will honor your legacy of equality.

Please contact Liz Gilchrist, NOW's Director of Gift Planning, at the NOW Action Center to discuss how to make a bequest or other planned gift to NOW or the NOW Foundation. Liz can be reached by phone at 202-628-8669, extension 112, or by email at foundation@now.org. You can also send her a letter at NOW, 1100 H Street NW, Third floor, Washington, D.C. 20005.