Press Release From: The Wellington Chamber of Commerce
Regarding: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Horse Tales
Date: September 11, 2012
Written By: Monica Kallas – SharpShooter Marketing Group
Photograph By: Monica Kallas – SharpShooter Marketing Group
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce Welcomes
Horse Tales Literacy Project as New Members
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Horse Tales Literacy Project has become a new member of the Chamber. It is a non-profit organization with a website title that states “Horses Inspiring Children to Read & Succeed!” and this appears to be very true. The site continues to state, “Horse Tales Literacy Project (formerly known as The Black Stallion Literacy Foundation) is an innovative partnership of educators, businesses, volunteers, educational foundations, and staff members focused on promoting literacy though the winning combination of live horses and classic horse literature.” The project adheres to each state’s education laws, have partnerships with large corporations and organizations plus have received many prestigious awards. This is a U.S. and Canadian project that has inspired 600,000 – and counting – children to read.
Tim Farley, son of the author Walter Farley who wrote The Black Stallion Book series, and Mark Miller, owner of Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction in Orlando, Florida, created the project in 1999 due to a common desire to motivate children to learn to read. The project works with school-based and community programs targeted to children in the 1st and 4th grades.
What the project does is provide Walter Farley’s books or other classic horse literature to children. Receiving and holding their own book is a first for many of these children. Then the kids listen to an adult reading the book out loud. At the end of the story, friendly horses named after the characters in the books make an unexpected arrival. The children obviously like this surprise visit and are then encouraged to read out loud to the horses. This makes for a comfortable environment for the child to explore their new and developing skills since the horses do not judge in case the child is reading slowly or mispronouncing the words. The program offers other learning opportunities as well.
Shelly LeConte is the South Florida Coordinator. She works from Indian River County to Dade County and runs the program with the help of her three daughters Summer 18, Stevanie 14, and Skye 12. Shelly stated, “We are working hard to bring up the literacy rate because our kids need this to succeed. It’s our next generation and these kids need to be able to read in order to learn.”
Horse Tales Literacy Project is a non-profit organization so funding is an issue. Shelly said, “We always need volunteers and sponsorships. Schools don’t have the money or the time so we need the money and time to make this work for the children.” Shelly’s next fundraiser is a golf tournament and dinner at Binks Forest Golf Club on March 9, 2013 and she encourages the public to attend and support the project.
For more information about Horse Tales Literacy Project, visit www.horsetalesliteracy.org The main office can be contacted by phone at 407.239.9223 or via email at info@horsetalesliteracy.com. Locally, Shelly LeConte can be reached at 561.357.8729 or at shelly.leconte@ horsetalesliteracy.com. Also visit The Wellington Chamber of Commerce at http://WellingtonChamber.com.