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Photograph Of Hope Atkinson - An Older Woman With Short Grey Hair, Round Glasses, And A Grey Sweater. She Is Sitting At A Table With Folded Hands

Hope Atkinson

Devoted to sailing and public service, Hope Atkinson (1927-2015) made a difference across the South Coast region.
Photo Of Philanthropist Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks

Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks

Like mother, not so much like daughter. Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks (1871-1951), daughter of infamously miserly Hetty Green, willed the bulk of her inheritance to libraries, hospitals and other charities. Although she developed many of her mother’s idiosyncrasies, Sylvia’s final philanthropy allowed most of her mother’s fortune to ultimately work for good.
Photograph Of Louise Strongman - She Is Sitting On A Boat With Short Red Hair, Glasses, White Shirt And Shorts

Louise E. Strongman

Optimistic that, as she insisted, “The world isn’t going to hell in a handbasket,” lifelong volunteer Louise Endicott Strongman (1912-2004) made sure that services were available for Dartmouth residents to become their best.
Photo Of Geraldine Gomes

Geraldine Gomes

Geraldine “Gerry” A. Gomes (1938-2011) was the first minority woman to run for political office in New Bedford.

Florence Eastman

The only woman to enlist in World War I from Mattapoisett, Florence Eastman (1894-1918) became the Head Army Nurse of the Isolation Hospital at Camp Mills, Mineola, Long Island, with 20 nurses and over 100 orderlies under her supervision.
Lighting The Way Logo

Charlotte White

Charlotte White (1775?-1861), born to a Wampanoag Native American and a former slave, connected with the Native American and African American communities, worked for poor relief, and practiced folk medicine and midwifery during her lifetime in Westport.

Helen Worthing Webster

A pioneering doctor and champion of physical activity for women, New Bedford’s Helen Worthing Webster (1837-1904) graduated from New England Female Medical College in Boston as a Doctor of Medicine.
Photograph Of Florence W. Waite - A Headshot Of An Older Woman With Short Grey Hair, Wearing A Dress And Cardigan

Florence Waite

The humble philanthropist Florence Waite (1861-1946) left the bulk of her estate worth more than $7.5 million in today’s dollars to be carefully distributed among more than 20 hometown organizations, many of which she had helped for decades.
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