Reading Between the Lines

The Dyslexia Awareness & Resource Center (DARC), co-founded by Rotarian Leslie "Les" Esposito and his wife, Joan, has helped affected families cope since 1991. Serving approximately 1,800 people a year, the center focuses on raising the awareness of parents, students, adult dyslexics, educators, law enforcement agencies, employers and health professionals about dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and other learning disabilities.

Rotarians from Les' club, the Rotary Club of Montecito, California, U S A, embrace the center's mission and regularly volunteer at the non-profit facility. The club also hosts the annual Million Dollar Hole in One fundraiser, with the proceeds benefiting The Dyslexia Awareness & Resource Center.

In 1998, California International Rotary District 5240 expanded the center's reach by partnering with South Korea International Rotary District 3720 to fund literacy libraries for learning disabled children and adults in Southern California. The Rotarians from the two districts provided more than $24,000 through a Humanitarian International Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to purchase educational books and videotabes on learning disabilities. Literacy libraries were set up in 26 public libraries, a youth correctional camp, two public school libraries and an advocacy program run by the California juvenile court system. Each library contains 14 educational videotapes and 25 books. All material in these special libraries are available throughout the Southern Califronia International Rotary District 5240. "The resource libraries have been primarily set up to meet the needs of low-income children and adults affected with dyslexia," says Les, a past president of the Montecito club and a Paul Harris Fellow. "To be successful in school, you need to learn how to read. Children need to learn to read in the first three grades. If there is an indication that a child has a learning disability, we can offer help right then and there."

Rotarians also utilize the center's resources. "When my son was small, I knew he was dyslexic because he was writing sentences backward and having trouble in school," remembers Michele Hinnrichs, a dyslexic herself and a past president of the Rotary Club of Santa Ynez Valley, California. "I feel very fortunate that my fifth-grade teacher recognized that I wasn't stupid and had me tested for dyslexia. Her act made me more aware of the importance of testing, so I took my son to the center."

Helping families like the Hinnrichses is what the center is all about, say Les and Joan. "We go home every day feeling like we are serving humanity," Les says. "We get joy from teaching a person to function more effectively in this world. That's one of the reasons we are so close to Rotary over the years. We try to fulfill the Rotary motto, 'Service Above Self' through the center."

The Rotarian