As co-founder of Working in the Schools, Marion Stone oversaw 1,500 volunteers in improving Chicago’s public schools. Stone began her career as a social worker both in schools and in private practice in Chicago. She founded her community’s first nursery school, participated in anti-war movements, held community and political forums in her home, and served as president of the National Council of Jewish Women and numerous other educational and cultural boards. While serving as chair of the education department at the Palm Springs Desert Museum in California, she developed a volunteer program bringing art instruction to the elementary schools. She created a similar volunteer program with Joanne Alter in the Chicago schools. In 1991, she began tutoring with Alter in Cabrini Green, an inner-city neighborhood. Their organization, Working in the Schools, has grown to include 1,700 volunteers serving 31 public schools in Chicago and offers programs ranging from tutoring and mentorship to summer programs, benefitting 2,500 students every year.

Marion Stone was honored at the 2004 Women Who Dared event in Chicago.