Celebrating 40 Years of Legacy at The Community Foundation of Frederick County.
There’s a story behind every fund created at The Community Foundation of Frederick County. Some begin with gratitude; others come from a lifetime of purpose. One of the earliest, and one that still creates impact nearly four decades later—began with two sisters who devoted their lives to education.
Mary E. M. Smith and Ruth E. Smith spent 42 and 44 years, respectively, employed by Frederick County Public Schools. For generations of students at Parkway Elementary from the 1940s to the mid‑1960s, the sisters were more than teachers—they were mentors and role models.
Mary served as principal of Parkway Elementary from 1940 to 1966 and previously spent 13 years as a “teaching principal” at Urbana Elementary, leading the school while teaching all seven grades. She was the first elementary teacher and principal in the county to earn a master’s degree; Ruth became the second.
Upon her retirement in 1966, Mary told The Frederick News‑Post that the key to a fulfilling life was to “identify with a cause greater than yourself—and then lose yourself in that cause.” For the Smith sisters, that cause was education, and through careful planning in their wills, they ensured their impact would outlive them.
The First Ripple
Originally administered by Fredericktown Bank and Trust Company, the fund was transferred to the Community Foundation in 1987. At $309,000, it became the Community Foundation’s first large endowment fund and helped lay the groundwork for the future.
Through their gift, the sisters established The Mary E. M. and Ruth E. Smith Scholarship Fund for Frederick County residents pursuing degrees at accredited colleges, with preference for education majors.
Since its creation, the fund has awarded more than $800,000 in scholarships to more than 400 students, many now educators themselves.
One gift. Hundreds of educators. Thousands of students.
That is the ripple effect.
Where the Ripple Leads
In 2017, Oakdale High School graduate Sasha Pabis received support from several Community Foundation scholarship funds, including the Smith sisters’ fund. Determined from a young age to inspire others, she earned bachelor’s degrees in deaf education and elementary education from Flagler College in 2021, followed by the college’s first fast‑track master’s degree in deaf education in 2022.
Now a third‑grade teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, Sasha has conducted research in Frederick County that has been featured by the Florida Educators of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association and in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. She hopes to continue researching vocabulary interventions and supporting fellow educators.
The Smith sisters never knew Sasha. Still, they believed in the promise of young people like her and the importance of providing opportunities for future generations to pursue careers in education.
Your Ripple
As the Community Foundation celebrates 40 years, funds like The Mary E. M. and Ruth E. Smith Scholarship Fund show how a thoughtful gift can grow and impact countless lives, for generations to come. Their story asks us all:
What cause will you lose yourself in?
Whose future might your generosity shape?
What legacy will ripple outward from you?
The Smith sisters showed us the tremendous impact one gift can have.
And the ripple continues.
Read more stories of scholars achieving their goals with support from scholarships provided by the the Community Foundation here.