1940s

Generations of Flint women took part in Stepping Stones, a school-based club for girls ages 10 to 18. While its primary purpose was to introduce members to the art of homemaking, the club also used mentoring, sports, arts and recreational activities to help girls “feel good about themselves.” Elizabeth “Ma” Pollock created the program in 1938 and acquired funding from Mott to expand the club in 1943. She also convinced the Hamady Brothers Corporation, a local grocery store chain, to donate a 22-room mansion on the Flint River to house club members for a one-week residency — considered a treat by all who participated. Stepping Stones continued to operate until 1980.

C.S. Mott purchased the Union Industrial Building on the corner of First and Saginaw streets in downtown Flint. The 16-story, art deco “skyscraper” was renamed the Mott Foundation Building on January 1, 1945.

During the Depression, Principal Elizabeth Welch opened Flint’s Fairview Elementary School to parents and other residents, linking them with services and involving them in school and community issues. In 1940, Josephine McDougall took over as principal and, together with home economics teacher Odell Broadway, continued to operate the school as a community center. In 1947, McDougall and Broadway sought help from Frank Manley and the Mott Program to bring a variety of health, social service and educational programs to Fairview. This helped to establish a model for Flint’s full-service community schools.

Frank Manley’s loss of his own mother at a young age contributed to his lifelong concern for troubled kids. A star athlete, he went to Eastern Michigan University so he could play sports. There he studied under Wilbur P. Bowen, a physical education professor who believed school buildings should be made available for community activities of all kinds, an idea that led to the development of Flint’s community school model. After working with C.S. Mott to develop the concept, Manley joined the Mott Foundation staff in 1948.