Adding Impact – Becky and Jacob Darling

January 27, 2026

Volunteers with Heart Math Tutoring provide elementary students with the consistency, support, and impactful tutoring needed to succeed at grade-level. Alongside tutors, Heart donors generously provide the resources to make this work possible. Heart is fortunate to have over 250 volunteers across the Carolinas who have added to their impact by also giving financially to our organization this year – two of those dedicated volunteers who give are Becky and Jacob Darling. We’re grateful for their time and commitment to furthering our mission, and we’re honored to shine the spotlight on the impact they’ve had together. Read on to learn more about Becky and Jacob and what drives them to support Heart students in Charlotte as both tutors and donors.

After first hearing about Heart Math Tutoring through their church, Jacob signed up to tutor at Merry Oaks International Academy in the 2022/23 school year, and has been working with Heart students ever since. Jacob shared, “I love teaching and mentoring kids, and I use math every day in my work, so [tutoring] seemed like a natural fit. My mom was a math teacher / tutor for her entire career; it’s been a really good way to honor her memory and life’s work as well.” This school year, Jacob’s wife Becky, a former 3^rd grade teaching assistant, joined him as a volunteer at Billingsville Cotswold Elementary. Becky has enjoyed being back in the classroom working with students again.  

In their time as volunteer tutors, Becky and Jacob have loved seeing their students progress through Heart’s curriculum and become more confident during tutoring sessions as they get to know each other better. Becky shared, “I’ve enjoyed getting to know the students I work with. They are always so eager and excited to play some math games. I love knowing that this extra help will help them grow in their math skills.” Jacob agrees that tutoring and getting to know his students is one of the highlights of his week: “I love it when they start to come out of their shells over time and start to trust me. They know we are going to have some fun, but they need to also put some work in. It’s great when they get to a point of confidence after so much repetition where they look at me and say, ‘this is so easy for me now’.”

After seeing the positive impact Heart’s program had on the students Jacob tutored over the years, Becky and Jacob generously donated to Heart’s Charlotte program to ensure students continue to receive one-on-one math support at no cost to students’ families. Becky shared that, “the need is so great for some students in our district to receive the extra support, and we want to help make that possible for as many students as need it.” Jacob added that they’re also encouraged to give financially knowing that they’re supporting not only individual students, but their local public schools’ capacity: “We have incredible teachers and administrators at our local schools, and they just get stretched so thin; to be able to come alongside them by supporting their students in math seemed like a no-brainer for us. When I learned through one of the Heart staff how much it costs on average to put one kid through the program for the year… we decided to cover the cost of my two students. When Becky started this year, we decided to cover hers and a little extra.” Supporting one school year of tutoring for a student is $2,000. This year Becky and Jacob joined Heart’s champion giving program, the Multipliers Circle with a gift of $10,000.

Thank you, Becky and Jacob, for providing support to help strengthen our students’ foundational math skills and build confidence for long-term success. Heart’s program and results are made possible due to the support and generosity of our dedicated volunteers and donors. To those who are considering joining them, Becky says, “I would highly encourage anyone thinking of volunteering or donating to do it. [Heart] is a highly impactful investment of your time or your resources. It’s a wonderful organization!”

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