A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Saturday, June 11 to open “Tylor’s Place,” an enrichment program for school-aged children ages 4 and up, developed by the T. Holmes Foundation in response to the bullying crisis in schools. This has been a long-time dream for founder Diane Holmes, who started The T. Holmes Foundation after the tragic loss of her son, Tylor, almost four years ago to suicide.
Trinity cuts the ribbon to officially open Tylor’s Place in Bethlehem
In loving memory of Tylor Holmes, the nonprofit organization called the T. Holmes Foundation was established. From there, Tylor’s Place (Positivity, Love, Acceptance, Confidence and Empowerment) was created as a safe haven where kids 4 and up can come together to celebrate differences in personalities, interests, learning abilities and gender through encouraging lasting friendships. Within Tylor’s Place, kids will also learn to accept themselves while building their self-esteem and encouraging others to do the same. We will facilitate creative activities and cooperative games, as well as host events, offer homework help and present educational videos and materials.
Tylor’s Place is a free program for kids to learn how to become more resilient to life’s challenges by building healthy friendships, developing healthy self-esteem and by learning their value in their community and society through this unique program. Research has shown that children who have a strong sense of self and community are less likely to be the victims of peer bullying. Tylor’s Place was created in response to the need for anti-bullying programs and uses various methods of child development that instill a positive self-image, and give kids the responsibility to take care of themselves, each other and the environment.
Goals and objectives are to:
- Foster a sense of self pride in individuals.
- Create an active learning environment in which all acknowledge bullying as an unacceptable action.
- Teach positive strategies that prevent and end bullying.
- Construct lasting friendships and celebrate differences.
We are hoping to help more children find their voice by empowering them with the tools to make healthy choices, the ability to work well in a team environment, the knowledge that they have good friends who will look out for them and the responsibility to help those in need. Sometimes all someone needs is a friend to listen to them. You’re never too young or too old to be a good friend.
Teaching children that they have a voice and value may make a difference in preventing the damage caused by peer victimization, such as poor grades, depression, self-harm, mental illness and suicide. Studies have shown that the impact of bullying often has lasting effects on healthy adjustment into adulthood, and we feel it is our responsibility to do our part to help the children in our community achieve success in school and later in life as healthy adults.
For more information or to register your child or children for future events, please visit the website at www.tylorsplace.com, email th**************@gm***.com or call 484-252-3302.
Tylor’s Place is completely FREE, open to the community and located in Bethlehem, at 1705 W. Broad St., lower level. The program is directed by educators and all volunteers and staff have had backgrounds checks. The program is specifically geared toward school-aged children, boys and girls ages 4 and up. Age-appropriate activities have been designed for various age groups. However, we encourage pre-teens and teens to join us! We hope they would enjoy mentoring the younger members, and we know they could provide valuable insights to help our program succeed.
The next dates for Tylor’s Place are June 25, July 9 and July 23 from 1 to 3 p.m.
