Mary Torrence Williams, who founded the organization in 2004, knows all about the challenges of growing up without a mother. Mary lost her mother when she was just 14 years old. As Mary cleaned her high school principal's home to earn money for her class ring, she made a promise to herself: when she became successful, she would work hard to help other young people in similar situations.

Mary was reminded of that promise when her own daughter made her aware of a student in a similar situation. This student, whose mother had also passed away, was cooking meals at home and selling them to other students to fund her college application fees. Mary was inspired to do something about it—and founded Students Without Mothers.