A Shared Love for the Museum: Vincent and Marlyn Sabatino

Vincent Sabatino’s offer to show Marlyn Greenberg around Center City and the Art Museum was the start of a wonderful relationship. A native of Camden, New Jersey, Vincent held the position of clerk in the Camden County Purchasing Department. He loved visiting the Museum, often rushing over after mass to take advantage of free Sunday admission. Marlyn, who never let cerebral palsy hold her back, was born in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, where her family lived above their ladies clothing store business. “A wonderful store—the first in Philadelphia to have air-conditioning!” remarked Vincent. Accounting courses and a talent with numbers led to Marlyn’s working as store bookkeeper. “Her ledgers were a thing of beauty,” her husband observed. The couple met when Vincent visited friends at Camp Greentop, a summer retreat for physically challenged adults nestled in the idyllic Maryland countryside near the President’s Camp David home. Vincent’s subsequent return as a camp counselor gave the two the opportunity to become acquainted.

The Sabatinos’ shared love of the Museum—Marlyn gravitates toward modern art, Vincent favors the Chinese rooms and Japanese tea garden—developed into a desire to give back to the institution that has meant so much in their lives together. “History tells us where we were and where we’re going, and the Museum is full of the beautiful things of history,” said Vincent.

After years of solid, careful investing, always with an eye to good return and low risk, the Sabatinos have made a planned gift to the Museum in the form of a charitable remainder unitrust, which will distribute income to them annually throughout their lifetimes based on a percentage of the fund’s fair market value. What remains at the end of the donors’ lives will create an endowment to support the Museum’s activities in perpetuity. The Sabatinos have also named the Museum as co-trustee, a step that the couple affirmed gives them great peace of mind.

“You don’t need vast wealth to make a difference—a lot of people can be part of something important,” noted Vincent. “We are delighted to give back to the community that has so enriched our lives...and have the added satisfaction of knowing that we can also be an incentive to others.”

Learn more about Charitable Remainder Trusts and other Planned Gifts >>

For more information, please contact Development by phone at (215) 684-7750, by fax at (215) 236-0796, or by e-mail at .