Leader at Wichita Area Literacy Council since beginnings lauded as she steps down
Leader at Wichita Area Literacy Council since beginnings lauded as she steps down as she battles cancer
Leader at Wichita Area Literacy Council since beginnings lauded as she steps down Leader at Wichita Area Literacy Council since beginnings lauded as she steps down as she battles cancer Check out this story on timesrecordnews.com: https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2019/06/25/cancer-battle-sara-shelton-wichita-area-literacy-council-texas/1558412001/
Judith K. McGinnis, For the Times Record News Published 12:19 p.m. CT June 25, 2019 | Updated 3:53 p.m. CT June 25, 2019
Anyone who has ever worked with, volunteered for or learned from Sara Shelton agrees to one thing.
She is the heart and soul of Wichita Adult Literacy Council.
After 25 years as WALC executive director Sara stepped down from the position in April to continue her battle with cancer.
Sara Shelton, executive director of the Wichita Adult Literacy Council since its beginnings, steps down amid cancer battle. The nonprofit has grown from six clients to now more than 300. (Photo: Contributed)
The new executive director, Carla Arinder, raised in Burkburnett, brings her four decades of nonprofit work to WALC. She and her husband, whom she met while his father was the chaplain at Sheppard Air Force Base, return to the area after several years away.
"We started with six people and now we work with 300-400 adults every year," Shelton said. "I was surprised how quickly the program grew."
Fast to credit others for WALC's success, Shelton points to past Region 9 Education Service Center executive director Georgia Brown.
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"Region 9 had an English as a Second Language program. Together we wrote a grant proposal and built a partnership," she said.
Workforce Solutions of North Texas got involved with WALC because they "understood literacy was important" to finding a good job. Later financial literacy was added to the program.
"Sara has a rare gift of working with community leaders and educators to support WALC," said Clara Latham, Midwestern State University librarian who served on the WALC board of directors in the late '90s.
In this file photo, Sara Shelton, the long-serving executive director of the Wichita Adult Literacy Council, celebrates a victorious annual book fair, a popular annual fundraiser for the nonprofit. (Photo: Contributed)
"At the same time she related to clients who called or walked into WALC seeking help with their low-level reading skills."
"We always agreed that the Literacy Council needed to keep its focus on students who needed our services and getting the word out," said Jim Sernoe, chair of the MSU mass communications department who became a WALC tutor in 2003.
"Low-level reading skills among adults is a real problem in our community and people who could benefit from our programs don't always know what's available."
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In support of MSU international students, every year WALC tutors about 30 students from 32 countries, including China, India and the Caribbean.
After retiring as a teacher at Vernon College, Peggy Cline became a WALC volunteer tutor and helped get donated books ready for the Annual Book Fair, the nonprofit's popular fundraiser.
Shelton (Photo: Times Record News)
"The more involvement I had with the organization the more respect I had for it and for Sara's leadership." Cline said. "I never saw her at work with anything but a smile on her face. The success of WALC and all the good it has accomplished in this community increasing literacy among some of the most vulnerable among us is probably her greatest accomplishment and the one she can be the most proud of."
"Over the years Sara has helped countless WALC clients with their unique needs," said Cindy Price who spent 4 years working for the Literacy Council. "She would get on the phone and advocate for them. Whether it was helping a client get dentures when they had no money to pay for them or speaking with a customer service rep to help a non-English speaking client get a financial issue resolved she was always willing to go to bat for them."
"Sara's greatest accomplishment has been to keep adult literacy in the forefront of the community," said Jean Payne, who served on the WALC board for five years. "I commend the newspaper for giving her a regular forum to explain the various ways people struggle to get along in life when they can't read well, how that impacts the entire community in lack of productivity and how it can affect children and grandchildren if they're not encouraged to read at a young age."
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As a columnist, including monthly pieces published in the Times Record News for years, Shelton has worked to give readers a clear view of the WALC mission.
"Sixty percent of our clients are the 'working poor' who don't have enough work hours or have low wage jobs," she pointed out. "There is some confusion about WALC. We don't have 'cute puppies or babies' so we have to try hard to get people involved as clients and volunteers."
In this 2018 file photo, Ronda Hare sorts some of the 100,000 donated books for sale at the Midwestern State University Sikes Lake Center for the 18th Annual Book Fair for the Wichita Adult Literacy Council. (Photo: Torin Halsey/Times Record News)
Carol Chatterton met Shelton when she became a WALC board member and has been board president for the past 2½ years.
"I feel so lucky to have been educated by Sara about adult literacy," said Chatterton. "Her greatest accomplishment in my eyes is her love of literacy and her ability to inspire others to become just as passionate.
"She lives and breathes literacy advocacy in its many forms and has inspired me among scores of others."
For more information about Wichita Adult Literacy Council, learning opportunities, to become a volunteer or make a donation go to www.wfwalc.org or call 940-766-1954.
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