Gift of Literacy, The

This Louisville native believes so strongly in family literacy that she has devoted her life to helping others learn.

Sharon Darling received a gift when she was a child, and she has shared it with thousands of people in her beloved Bluegrass State and beyond. The gift that this one-time second-grade teacher continues to pass along is literacy, one of the most important of the basic human rights.

Reading

President and founder of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), headquartered in Louisville, Sharon did not grow up planning to spend 80% of her time traveling the country promoting literacy. But it was always an important topic in her home, and the seeds of her organization were planted at an early age.

"I had an aunt who was a teacher," says Sharon, a vibrant auburn-haired woman with friendly eyes and a warm smile. "She read to me and took me with her to her classroom. She taught at an inner-city school, and they did not have what I had.

"And my father was a building contractor. His crew did not read or write; they were from a rural area in Kentucky. They were very valued in my family," she continues. Wanting to teach, Sharon began with second graders until she started helping adults learn to read in the evenings.

More and more women began coming to classes, and they brought their children with them. "It became obvious that the children needed help too," says Sharon. "It all began to come together for me."

What came together for her was the certainty that families needed to learn together. "All this time, I was gathering enough experience to do something like NCFL," Sharon says.

Righting

When she started her community-based literacy programs, Sharon spoke at churches, then spoke to the women by phone. Many times the programs were in community centers. Participants did not want to go to a school where they had failed before due to poverty and family circumstances. "People come in and want so much more for their children," she says.

Sharon and her organization believe if the whole family can move forward, the cycle of poverty and illiteracy can be broken. They have tracked 10,000 families and know the program works. "Parents get on with their lives, get their GEDs, and go on to college. I have been to lots of college graduations of people who once could not read," Sharon says.

Arithmetic

The NCFL has been blessed with good benefactors. Many companies have donated millions to help continue the gift of literacy, and the goals continue to grow for using that gift.

In an effort to reach more people in more areas of the country, Sharon's center is working with many volunteers. "We are actually working to train volunteers online," she says. "Anyone can log on to vluonline.org."

In her rare spare time, Sharon enjoys spending time with husband George and her five grown children. She continues to foster her legacy in her own home. "My son came to me when his son was a toddler and said, 'Mom, lighten up.' The baby boy was always commanding his father to read," she says. Sharon smiles, confident that her schoolteacher aunt and parents are smiling too. WANDA MCKINNEY

For more information: Contact the National Center for Family Literacy at www.famiit.org.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jul 2004
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