Mother Mary Lange believed it important to teach young children of color the skills that would provide opportunity. Like so many founders of religious communities, she did not start with much, but her dedication to listening to the call of God set in motion something truly wonderful. She and other women had a sense that God would provide a way for their desire for religious life to become real. They had been waiting for God to show them the way — and God did. After founding her community in 1829, She started a school that still exists today in Baltimore. She, and the community she founded recognized the importance of skills and education as a way out of poverty. She provided night classes for women, vocational and career training, and homes for widows and orphans.
