PORTLAND COUPLE CHAMPIONS SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH LEGACY GIFT

As physicians with a shared interest in global justice, Drs. Robert Lowe and Michelle Berlin-Lowe understand the importance of tackling societal problems at their root causes—which is why they actively support AJWS and have established a legacy gift to support our work for generations to come.

Now retired, Bob and Michelle buttressed their medical careers with research and advocacy aimed at assisting underserved populations around the world. Their shared passion led them naturally to AJWS.

“As we were looking for effective organizations to support, we found many working at the individual level providing education, or food, or money; and we found some work at the community level, digging wells, or providing sanitation,” Bob says. “But what wasn’t common were organizations that worked at the policy level—tackling the root causes of why people need this aid in the first place. That’s what we found in AJWS.”

Bob and Michelle’s commitment was solidified during a trip to the Dominican Republic where they were “stunned” by the conditions they found but equally impressed by the work AJWS was doing.

“The trip really won me over,” Michelle says. She and Bob observed that AJWS addresses the fundamental causes of societal problems through partnerships with local organizations in a spirit of mutual respect.

“It was immediately apparent that there is a powerful connection between AJWS’s in-country staff and the organizations that it funds. It isn’t just a funder—AJWS is a partner,” Bob says.

Using a donor-advised fund, Bob and Michelle financially support the work of AJWS on an annual basis. By establishing a planned gift, they have guaranteed their support will last for many years to come.

“Making a legacy gift to AJWS was my way of making sure our support will live on,” Bob says.

“For me, it’s about continuity,” Michelle adds. “The work of social justice will never be finished, and so it’s important to me to keep supporting it. We trust AJWS to use our funds to make a difference now and into the future. As it says in Pirke Avot—the ethics of our fathers—‘It is not incumbent on you to solve all the problems of the world, but neither can you desist from trying.’ ”

Family history and Jewish tradition have impressed on Bob and Michelle the importance of helping strangers and those under the yoke of oppression and authoritarianism. Both lost ancestors in Nazi-occupied Europe and see supporting AWJS as a way of helping today’s forgotten and needy populations.

“Michelle and I grew up with some awareness that it was not okay to not know what is happening in the world,” Bob says. “I’ve been driven by the history of my family and the knowledge that the only way to get justice for any of us is to seek justice for all of us. This led us to AJWS.”

As effective ambassadors for AJWS, Bob and Michelle have offered matching gifts to encourage younger donors—and they strongly encourage anyone wishing to promote human progress to consider creating a legacy gift as they have done.

“Get to know the organization,” Bob urges. “AJWS has given us a sense of being part of something much bigger than ourselves—a sense of having a small role in something that’s doing a whole lot of good in the world.”

“AJWS works on root causes rather than putting on a band-aid,” Michelle adds. “It helps ease my mind to know that we’re doing what we can to address the injustice in the world, and with our legacy gift, hopefully, that will continue even when we’re not here.”