Our Founder: Ruth Rawlings Mott 1901 - 1999
Ruth Rawlings Mott (1901-1999) was raised in El Paso, Texas. Her father was a family practice physician who served those in need on both sides of the border. Her mother was a businesswoman, kindergarten teacher, and founder of the El Paso YWCA.
Ruth went east to study physical education, became a teacher in the Baltimore Friends School, and returned to El Paso to open her own dance studio. It was there that she met and married Charles Stewart Mott and moved to his estate, Applewood, in Flint, Michigan. She became a mother, an active partner with her husband in the community, and prominent in her own right as a local leader, foundation trustee, and national philanthropist.
Mrs. Mott established the Ruth Mott Foundation as a means of extending the reach of her philanthropy beyond her lifetime with a continued presence in Flint.
Ruth Mott's values and conduct inspire the Foundation to be inclusive, welcoming, and egalitarian, to act with kindness and good humor, treat all people with respect and dignity, and encourage personal responsibility, practice prevention, and maintain "the long view".