Meet Terry Holmes-Stecyk | Founder/President

We had the good fortune of connecting with Terry Holmes-Stecyk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Terry, what inspires you?
There is an essential need for literacy promotion and reading encouragement programs in Arizona. There are 45 million adults in the United States alone who cannot read. According to the US Department of Education and the National Institute for Literacy, studies indicate 4% of Americans have Below 1 literacy, meaning they cannot read well enough to perform daily activity living in our modern society. 60% of low-income families have no children’s books in the home. 70% of children whose parents have low literacy will likely be at the lowest reading levels in their grade. Nearly 70% of fourth-graders in the USA read below grade level. 82% of these children are from low-income homes. A child who is a poor reader at the end of first grade has a 90% chance of being a poor reader at the end of fourth grade. A child who has not learned to read well by the end of fourth grade is dramatically more likely to drop out of high school. If a child is not reading at grade level by fourth grade, they are statistically likely to remain illiterate throughout their life.

Not only do struggling readers experience higher levels of stress and feelings of isolation during their school years, but they also have a dramatically increased chance of dropping out of high school and entering the criminal justice system. 75% of prison inmates have low literacy or dropped out of high school. 85% of youth offenders struggle to read. Adults who cannot read also experience worse health outcomes and longer-term poverty than those who are literate.

The rate of illiteracy has not changed in the US over the past 10 years. Changing these staggering statistics is our goal. Through our Mini Tales program, we contribute by promoting literacy and encourage reading with young children during their early developmental age period so they will have the confidence and desire to build on their reading skills, which will ultimately enhance their lives.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Tender Little Hearts Mini Tales promotes literacy and offers reading opportunities for children of all ages. We provide a safe, empowering environment to spur on literacy growth. We bring our qualified therapy minis to libraries, schools, foster homes and child advocacy centers. Our programs promote literacy among young readers which will increase their ability to be more beneficial to their future family and society in general. Our programs inspire and cultivate a love of reading at an early age. Children who value books are motivated to read on their own, will likely continue to practice independent reading throughout the rest of their lives, thereby enhancing their learning abilities and increasing their knowledge which enhances their skills.

Tender Little Hearts Mini Tales has a unique niche as a literacy promotion program. We are a mobile organization and transport our minis around the Valley to a variety of child advocacy centers, libraries, schools, anywhere a child can benefit from our reading services. Our unique and innovative outreach is the only equine-based nonprofit offering an offsite reading program. Our organization only incorporates qualified miniature equine teams to provide these reading services. Our program not only promotes literacy and encourages reading, we offer comfort, joyfulness, empowerment, self-esteem and unconditional love while interacting with our miniature therapy horses and donkeys.

By providing our literacy promotion program, we meet children where they are in their reading journey and encourage them to become a confident reader through the reading experience with the mini equines. The child builds confidence with an understanding listener, one who doesn’t criticize, one who encourages the child to continue to read with the outcome goal of improving their reading level.

Often a family will participate as a group, with the parent reading to, or with, the children. These sessions can help bring a family together and can foster a strong family bond, one which associates reading with love and comfort. Mini tales has donated 1000s of books to provide a mini library at child advocacy centers and have donated many more children’s books at special events to help support and encourage families to continue to read together.

Mini Tales increases a child’s vocabulary, helps instill moral values and lessons and can improve their conversations with others. These are just some of the wonders of children reading aloud as well as being read to. This simple act of reading aloud practically works like a magic multivitamin in the lives of kids. Reading aloud imparts many tangible benefits to a children’s mind and character, but the more intangible rewards are equally important: it’s just plain enjoyable to see the delight on a child’s face when they succeed and are able to orally read to the miniature equines.

We are excited to expand our literacy programs to include a certification in Horse Powered Reading® which integrates social-emotional learning with academics; thus allowing students see and experience reading with their entire mind, body and emotions by creating metaphors for the skills involved in reading. Students interact with horses from the ground, while using toys and props to identify obstacles and learn five critical reading skills – phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
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An additional goal is to install 5 Free Little Libraries in areas without a nearby public library. Books will be offered for all ages of children and adults.

Donations to our nonprofit cover our programs and essential supplies, as well as assists the organization to offset rising fuel costs and feed bills for our miniature horses and donkeys, the very HEART of the Tender Little Hearts programs. Our organization is 100% volunteer supported and 100% of all funding received is directed to our programs. We are excited to announce Tender Little Hearts Mini Tales is now an Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO). Your Arizona Charitable Tax Credit donation can receive dollar-for-dollar credit on your Arizona income taxes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Day 1 – We’d start with a delightful breakfast at the Soul Cafe for their lemon ricotta pancakes. We’d visit the Southwest Wildlife and Conservation Center to tour and learn about the amazing creatures we are blessed to share the desert with. Perhaps even take a short hike afterwards in the nearby Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Day 2 – We’d enjoy the narrative cruise of the Desert Belle at Saguaro Lake. Then head into Cave Creek to shop and finish the day with an adult beverage and country music at the Buffalo Chip or Harolds… or both!

Day 3 – Head to Old Town Scottsdale for more shopping fun. Perhaps have lunch at The Mission. Visit the Western Spirit, Museum of the West and finish with a sweet treat at the Sugar Bowl.

Day 4 – We’d enjoy a road trip to Sedona to explore the red rocks, perhaps through a Pink Jeep Tour or helicopter tour. Spend the afternoon window shopping and have a late lunch at the Cowboy Club before coming home.

Day 5 – We’d enjoy a morning at the Botanical Gardens and have lunch at their restaurant. After, we’d explore the Mystery Castle at South Mountain.

Day 6 – We’d start our morning at Talisen West to learn about the architecture and desert home of Frank Lloyd Wright, then enjoy our booked tour of Cosanti in Paradise Valley to see how the famous Paola Soleri brass bells are created and of course, bring one home to enjoy. We’d end the day with dinner at El Chorro.

Day 7 – We’d enjoy a guided horse ride with Cave Creek Outfitters to further explore the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve on horseback. We would visit one of several donkey or horse rescues in our area. And end the trip with a dinner at El Encanto in Cave Creek.

Of course, each day would start and end with chores and time spent with my amazing little herd of miniature horses and donkeys. 🙂

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our amazing Board of Directors and our volunteer handlers. Tender Little Hearts has provided over 13,000 hours of volunteer service, providing 3-4 program visits each week, to enrich the lives of children, adults, and seniors in Arizona since its inception.

Our Mini Tales program currently reaches 3500-4000 children a year through our various school, library, child advocacy center visits and special events. The impact of our programs carries over to their siblings and communities. Our online Mini Tales video and recorded books have the potential to reach thousands more as they are available 24/7 and free of charge.

Our hope is to create an environment where every little horse or donkey is given a purpose to enrich a human life, bring joy and comfort, and leave every person with a reason to smile.

Website: www.tenderlittlehearts.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenderlittlehearts_minitales/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tenderlittlehearts