“We want to do anything to educate our students," she says. "So it’s disheartening to hear students wanting to leave the town.”

High school graduates have to go away to continue their education, she explains, since there’s no college in town. But many of them find better job opportunities in big cities, and never come back. So Harmon and others decided to do something to encourage students to go to college and return.

Saving Sparkman

“We got together, several of us community members, and started this Sparkman Scholarship Foundation,” Harmon says.

The idea is not entirely new. Many communities in Arkansas and across the country offer students money to pay for their higher education. However, Harmon says the Sparkman scholarship is unique.

“Most scholarships such as ours are funded through wealthy benefactors or corporations or other foundations," she says. "Our scholarship has a uniqueness that really tells how wonderful our community is. We didn’t have a wealthy benefactor or foundation who is funding us. Our scholarship is completely funded by the residents of Sparkman and others with a heart for our town.”

One of those funders is Bill Sorrells, a retired grocery store owner who has lived in Sparkman for almost all his life. Although he doesn’t have kids of his own, Sorrells donated $500 to the scholarship fund.

“I plan to donate more each year, not just one time," Sorrells says. "It’s our kids. If we don’t help them, nobody else is going to help them. We hope these scholarships will encourage people to stay here and maybe even some people move here and help us to grow a little bit.”