The Virginia Women’s Monument is the nation’s first monument designed to celebrate the remarkable women who made significant, but often unrecognized contributions and accomplishments in a variety of fields and endeavors over the 400-year history of Virginia.
The Virginia Capitol Foundation in Richmond, announced that the granite plaza foundation for Voices from the Garden: The Virginia Women’s Monument is completed and soon will be open to the public. In addition, the 230 Virginia women whose names are inscribed on the monument’s glass Wall of Honor were revealed.
According to the Virginia Masonry Restoration, the contractor for this phase of the project, the monument’s foundation combines a granite plaza with tiered granite benches in gray tones that are in keeping with similar stone combinations around the Capitol. Nearly 72 tons of granite comprise the plaza and the largest stone, which is part of the tiered bench seating, weighs over 18,000 pounds.
The granite wall of the upper bench tier features an inspiring quote by Mary Johnston, a well-known Virginia author in the early years of the 20th century:
“It did not come up in a night, the Women Movement, and it is in no danger of perishing from view. It is here to stay and grow…It is indestructible, it is moving on with an ever-increasing depth and velocity, and it is going to revolutionize the world.” Mary Johnston, 1912.
The Wall of Honor is inscribed with the names of 230 women who demonstrated notable achievement, made a significant contribution or set an important example within their chosen field of endeavor, their
region or at the state or national level. The list is intended to represent the many inspiring Virginia women who made contributions or achievements during their lifetimes. A large amount of blank space will be available for the names of more outstanding women to be added tothe Wall of Honor in the future.
Our dynamic former first lady of Virginia, Susan Allen, told us at Hampton Roads Weekly about this incredible tribute to the women of our Commonwealth. We will feature in each edition the profile of an exceptional woman leader in our community today and match her strengths and achievements with one of the historical women honored in “Voices from the Garden” on the Capitol grounds in Richmond.
Annie Sandler
The smallest, kindest, and quietest gestures are what make the greatest impact. There are very few people who recognize the impact of the arts as much as Annie Sandler. Alongside her husband Art, they recognized Virginia Beach’s need for a cultural center and supported the architectural masterpiece The Sandler Center of the Performing Arts was dedicated in November of 2007.
Mrs. Sandler has been a pioneer in the greater Hampton Roads community by helping the arts come alive for all ages. Back when asked to be President of the Board she was hesitant at first but felt the responsibility to help lead the team since everyone was completely committed. Raised $3 million more than what was expected of them to match the city’s contribution.
The Sandler Family atop Mt. Kilimanjaro
As she would describe leading from the “middle or even the back” has been her secret to success in paving the way for others in the arts community. She told us that it is quite hard to engage others if you haven’t instilled the self-confidence and guidance in others for them to lead on their own. It is really a team approach and we all become better once we are inspired and connected with what we are passionate about leads to much more effective results.
“Women especially are incredible when energized and introduced to something they are passionate about. The more people who are engaged, the more you people you can impact with your work becomes a real win-win for all”, Annie said, which certainly rings true of the Sandler Center.
The Sandler Center of the Performing Arts’ abundance of volunteers have not only saved the city thousands of dollars a year, they have helped pave the way for the Sandler Center to be the culture epicenter of the community. Gathering this amazing bunch of volunteers has been one of the most exciting things that Mrs. Sandler has done for The Sandler Center as she described they have allowed the Center to not only develop, grow but, “basically explode”. The volunteers are the forefront of the outreach programs that span across all ages throughout the community. Annie has coined this to be one of the most important things that she has felt she has done based on the Sandler Center goals.
One of Annie’s true passions is education and when she originally inquired how much money she was going to have for educational programs at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, it was laughably low. Shocked and dismayed she certainly did not let that stop her and thus started the Access to the Arts Program. The goal of that committee was to facilitate bringing as many Title I schools to matinees at the Center. 14,800 underprivileged children thus far have been able to come to shows that tie into their curriculum at the Sandler Center that help translate to what they are studying.
The Sandlers and the Performing Arts Center is also no stranger to the military community that is abundant in the Hampton Roads area. Together, they have developed relationships with the military and brought in comedy groups to help with subjects like PTSD and re-integration within the community in general highlighting the fact that the Sandler Center is accessible for all.
Annie Sandler believes that everyone has certain values that they lead with and bringing those to light will allow others to follow, to which she is doing exactly that in the Hampton Roads Community. When asked how she would explain her philanthropic work in the community Annie said that word is just “too high up on a pedestal” for her taste.
She went on to describe the word philanthropy as alienating people from contributing to certain organizations because they are afraid of the price tag that follows that service. However, Mrs. Sandler believes that what you give to an organization through philanthropy could come through a variety of different avenues. Many individuals tend to not involve themselves with a cause or organization if they are hesitant about contributing, but contributing passion is what is most important.
When offering advice to the future generation of leaders, Annie believes that, “young people especially need to find what makes them passionate and will follow their values throughout their lifetime and will want to lead through what speaks to them in their heart and soul. Young people do not have an abundance of free time so therefore, what they become involved in better be good, it better be impactful and it better be successful”.
“I find people who become involved for a long period of time tend to vaporize, but your work is truly never “done until you’re dead” because those who come after you need a visual, they need guidance and it is still important to leave them to participate in something, otherwise what you do loses credibility”, Annie said. A balanced life is the most important life to live and the key factor overall rather than solely focusing on happiness. If you can balance what speaks to you and what enriches your life that is the most meaningful contribution you can give to others because you should never negate the fact that someone else is behind you watching”.
Thanks to both Annie and Art Sandler for rolling up their sleeves and taking action to motivate others. The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts is thriving in our Hampton Roads Community and continues to spread the good works of the arts and education for future generations to come. Not only have the Sandler family made extraordinary contributions to our community, but we realized after diving a little deeper, their contributions extend worldwide because they cannot turn a blind eye to others in need.
The JDC
One of the most interesting things we found out about Annie Sandler was about her deep, spiritual beliefs incorporated into the Jewish phrase tikkun olam (repairing the world). This basic tenant of Judaism stresses the important concept of leaving the world a better place than we found it, our great responsibility for “repairing the world”.
Our Hampton Roads Jewish community does much work through its partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). The JDC was founded in 1914, during World War I, as a first Jewish organization in the United States to dispense large scale funding for international relief from those living around the world who are suffering from extreme poverty or crises. Annie Sandler’s commitment to the JDC has taken literally around the world, where she delivers her hands-on methods of helping those in need.
From her works in the slums of Mumbai India, to a druse village in Mozambique, creating schools in Ethiopia, building camps in Romania and helping communities in Israel, Annie Sandler is part of it all. Annie Sandler and her family inspire and encourage voices and minds around the world to take action and become the best version of themselves.