Edwin S. Webster Foundation Awarded 2020 GIVE Award for Support of Whole Village Family Resource Center

Edwin S. Webster, an entrepreneur, and philanthropist from the Northeast, was a selfless man who wanted to give back to his communities. 

After graduating from MIT, Webster and his friend, Charles A. Stone, launched a powerplant manufacturing company called Stone & Webster. The business took off and became the largest electric utilities development company in the country. 

As the company grew, Webster started buying more and more land from farmers that could not make it, eventually creating the Webster Farm Corporation.  One of these farms was in Holderness, NH. Soon enough, Webster considered the land in the beautiful White Mountains home. 

Sandy Harris, Webster’s great-grandson, explains Holderness as an important place that helped raise him as a child. 

“My cousins and I would spend every summer up at Holderness,” says Harris. “My earliest memories were of me helping out on the farm. I wish I could have given my children the same experience.”

Aside from his business, Webster was a family man that cared about his community. He was passionate about education, healthcare, and providing other supports to families. 

“Everybody had nothing but good things to say about him,” said Harris. “He was always there for his family and touched everyone’s hearts he came to contact with.” 

Before he passed in 1950, he created the Edwin S. Webster Foundation to support local causes that he was passionate about. 

The YMCA of Manchester, Speare Memorial Hospital, Squam Lakes Science Center, and Whole Village Family Resource Center are only a few of the organizations that the Webster Foundation supports.

Whole Village Family Resource Center, an initiative of Granite United Way, serves the Greater Plymouth area. They house 15 social service agencies in their building that provide wrap-around services for their clients. Whole Village’s mission is to strengthen families while building a community that supports the healthy development of all children in the community.

These services include a Headstart Preschool, Family Support Specialist, UNH Cooperative Extension, Pemi Baker Literacy, Plymouth Area Recovery Center, support groups, playgroups, family fun nights, and more. 

In 2020, the need for resources in the community was greater than ever before. With their doors closed to keep everyone safe, Whole Village was still there answering phones to help families access resources. They also stepped up and hosted the NH Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry and provided grocery gift cards, clothes, diapers, and any other resources that were needed. 

“We are pleased to follow in the footsteps of my great-grandfather, Edwin S. Webster, and we enthusiastically support the mission of Granite United Way and the Whole Village Family Resource Center. We encourage everyone to join in this critical effort to provide support to our community,” Harris explained.

Each year, Granite United Way holds a celebration to acknowledge our generous donors and partners that make the work we do possible. This year, we are dedicating our Annual Celebration to those who demonstrated resilience in the past year. 

Granite United Way is proud to present our 2020 Central Region GIVE Award to the Edwin S. Webster Foundation for their generous donations over the years. This year, their support helped hundreds of families during the pandemic.