Darks shines bright as she helps a younger generation

The Port Arthur News

November 22, 2008 03:12 pm

— By Amy Moore
The News staff writer
C. Ella Dennis Darks may be 70-years-old, but the Port Arthur woman doesn’t let that stop her from attending classes at Edison Middle School.
Of course she’s not graded on the work she does, not by anyone on earth anyway.
Darks’ classmates know her only as Grandmother Darks, a title she earned working as a Foster Grandparent.
For the past 10 years the volunteer gives several hours of her day to middle school children, though her volunteerism goes back much longer.
“I’ve been taking care of people my whole life and thank God I’m still able to do it,” she said while walking the halls of the schools.
Darks’ dedication to serving students began with her own four children in their school days. Even after becoming a widow, Darks pulled double duty as parent and provider as well as keeping up with her volunteerism.
“C Ella became a widow when her children were very young, yet she still found the time to work hard to support them, provide them with love and still serve her community,” Darks’ Citizen of the Year nominator, Corine Jones, wrote in her letter.
Darks said the work of a volunteer stayed in her heart over the years and it has not gone unnoticed. Along with her nomination for Citizen of the Year, Darks was chosen as Volunteer of the Year last year and was awarded for her work with Ben’s Kids.
But the elderly woman is not one to brag about her good works.
“God put us on earth to be servants, so we have to. Sometimes the little attention that we give is the only attention that they get,” Darks said of the children she deals with. “I hug them and I enjoy them hugging me too, so I get joy from that, too. You know, giving them love and in turn I get love, too. It’s better than just sitting at home. I don’t care about the stories — the soap operas — and you get tired of cleaning all the time. This is much better. It’s a greater reward,” she said.
Before becoming a Foster Grandparent in 1997, Darks was formerly a caregiver and would sit with elderly people at the hospital.
“I was at home, my kids were gone, my grandkids started school and it was something to do,” she said of her volunteerism. “I love working with children.”
And the teachers Darks works with love having her there with the children.
“I have a few kids ... she helps me keep up to date, keep them up with their assignments. It’s easier for them to have that one on one attention,” 6th grade science teacher Brooke Lejeune said. “It would be more difficult without her here.”
Jones said Darks is highly respected by the teachers and students she works with and “provides an environment for the students where they aren’t afraid to try and tackle challenging assignments.”
“After her four hours each day as a foster grandparent you may find C Ella on a Saturday morning in the rain walking to assist those suffering from Lupus as she did during the Babineaux family walk-a-thon,” Jones wrote in her nomination letter. “She takes time reading to children in her neighborhood. She will purchase tickets and take children from the neighborhood to school sports events so they will have the opportunity to attend.”
Darks’ latest project is a bible club for the students at Edison, something she just implemented. She plans on bringing the club members to nursing homes during the holidays.
Darks is the mother to four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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