She joined the U.S. Red Cross during the First World War and subsequently signed on with the Near East Relief. In 1919, Corning arrived in a small Turkish village at the foot of Mount Ararat to take charge of an orphanage. In 1922, Corning travelled to Constantinople, where the Near East Relief was headquartered. She was then sent to Yerevan to be in charge of an orphanage. At the end of 1922, Corning was sent to Smyrna while the Turkish army was capturing the city. Corning gathered the orphaned children and led them through the city to safety aboard an American ship, where they were then taken to Constantinople. She later established an orphanage for the children on the Greek island of Syros.