Pulling Back The Curtain

I’m taking a pause in the “Myth’s of Philanthropy” series because several of you have asked to learn more about what happens behind the scenes at the Sandler Center Foundation.

SCF is like a family.

I know many organizations or businesses pay lip service to this descriptor, but coming into this season of giving and gathering, ours is true!

Let me explain!

SCF was created nearly 20 years ago by a family’s philanthropy to honor their parents.

Annie, Art, and Steve Sandler gave the naming gift for the world-class performance venue which was to be built in Town Center, Virginia Beach. The gift was given in memory of Steve and Art’s parents – Reba and Sam Sandler, to honor their generous and kind-hearted legacy of helping others in the community – a fact which has been mostly lost to history.

Annie, Art, and Steve didn’t stop there with their own family philanthropy, though! They reached out to many of their family and friends who then did the same… and so on, and so forth. Their collective efforts formed what we know of today as the Sandler Center Foundation.

Our mission has evolved over the years, but at our core we are still an organization which serves and supports arts and culture in the region. The people with us today are just as passionate about carrying on the legacy instilled by the Sandler family to support our community. (Well done, Sam and Reba!)

Like all families, we have had our ups and downs. We have disagreed and agreed, made mistakes and compromises, etc. as our family has grown and evolved.

Beyond our SCF work and together, we’ve gone through a pandemic, health crises, life steps, career changes, deaths, births, and more. We’ve picked each other up when the chips were down, and we’ve celebrated.

Most importantly, we are there for each other and we welcome our own friends and family (and others too!) to the table! We recently had a social gathering where the ages of the people in attendance ranged from just 1 year to nearly 80!



So, in today’s blog, we are pulling back the curtain so you can meet an important member of the SCF family - Milo Mittens.

Ahem! You can stop laughing now.

I promise you that not a single workday goes by without someone in the SCF universe asking, “So, how’s Milo?” or “Can you put him on FaceTime? I need Milo to cheer me up!”

A little background…

Milo joined SCF in October 2020 as a foster employee. Milo is an enormous (no body shaming here) senior, orange, tabby cat. He has quite a lot of toes (polydactylism), which results in his paws looking like he has a thumb and his many digits stuffed into fuzzy mittens. He is a unique cat and has a personality to match! Google lens thinks he is part Maine Coon cat and part Norwegian Forest Cat.

Regardless and whatever he is, he’s inserted himself into the SCF family and we’ve welcomed him with open arms… following a 6-month probationary period, of course.

The SCF team promptly gave him the title, “Deputy Director Milo Mittens.”

Today, Milo’s main responsibilities to fulfill SCF’s mission include:

• Supervision of the Executive Director (me) and all her work activities from the window seat located behind her monitors. From that lofty seat, he oversees the neighborhood, the construction of Atlantic Park, and “protects” the Executive Director from birds and squirrels by squawking at them. (Beware, he also hears everything and refuses to sign a non-disclosure agreement.)
• Time enforcement by waking the Executive Director up promptly at 5:30 AM and leading her into her office no later than 8 AM.
• Periodic appearances during Zoom/Teams meetings and conference calls. He occasionally needs to be silenced for snoring on the job.
• Community relations through social media posts and engagement of the neighborhood who regularly stop by his window-seat to say hello! This scares the dickens out of the Executive Director when she is engrossed in work, but she is glad for Milo’s part in developing a sense of community.
• Unlimited photographic posing and use of his image for marketing purposes and cheering up SCF family members on tough days.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Milo also receives a comprehensive and generous benefits package. It includes room, board, veterinary care, veterinarian curated meals (he’s gone from 23.5# to a svelte 15.8#!), a personal driver to veterinary appointments, and monthly paw-dicures to trim his many toes. He even has his own personal pharmacist (aka, my partner, Marc, who also donates his time.) 

For those Board members reading and quickly pulling out your SCF financial statements – never fear! I provide SCF with an in-kind donation that covers Milo’s compensation package. He does not sit on our liabilities line.

“You’re welcome.”

The important part of today’s post is that Milo is a part of the SCF family. Not a day goes by when he doesn’t make himself known in SCF’s work to help the community. He brings us comfort and joy.

So, during this traditional season of togetherness, and from our SCF family to yours, we wish you all good tidings and a peaceful and healthy holiday season.

Lisa Baehre

Executive Director

Sandler Center Foundation

lbaehre@sandlercenterfoundation.org