Her parents died when Mary was 3, along with all three of her siblings due to Tuberculosis, which forced her to live with her grandmother and aunts in Baltimore, Maryland.

[2] This meant she was handed down good critical thinking skills and a caring attitude toward the poor, needy and disabled.

[3] Her grandmother taught the important topics of inequality, suffrage, racial problems, spiritualism, and a variety of liberal, social, and political beliefs.

[1] Mary Richmond increased the public's awareness of the Charity Organization Society and the philanthropic opportunities to support social work.

During the time Richmond was connected to the Charity Organized Society, she demonstrated her qualities as a leader, teacher, and practical theorist.

Mary remained in this position for nine years, in that time she advocated for legislation reform concerning compulsory education, child labor, and spousal desertion and nonsupport.

In addition, Mary believed the government should create a children's bureau and juvenile court system.

Mary believed a firm cooperation between social workers, educators and the health care system was crucial to successfully helping those in need.

Her career took off from charity organization leadership in Baltimore and Philadelphia to an executive position with the prestigious Russell Sage Foundation in New York City.

[4] The social workers she worked with at the Russell Sage Foundation were among the first enabled to develop methods and systems for helping needy families.

She believed in the relationship between people and their social environment as the major factor of their life situation or status.