join our volunteer community!
Volunteers play a HUGE role in the Story Island Project; they are at the heart of our workshops with young people.
Volunteering with the Story Island allows you to support the learning and wild imaginations of young Tasmanians, encouraging their creativity and confidence through story building and connection.
We aim to have a volunteer for each two or three young people in our workshops. That way, young people can get valuable individual attention and encouragement – that’s when the creative magic really happens!
“I can honestly say Story Island is a remarkable program. It digs into the students’ and volunteers’ minds and brings out thoughts, ideas and memories that might’ve been hidden for a long while. It brings them to the surface and creates epic stories! And when we see them come to life, the expressions on everyone’s faces tell me I’ve done something right.”
“I have served in many volunteering roles over the years, including school canteens, umpiring netball, charity work and cutting hair, but Story Island is definitely the most rewarding volunteering experience. I urge anyone who is looking for a rewarding experience to try Story Island.”
Story Island were the proud winners of Volunteering Tasmania’s Volunteer Group/Program of the Year Award in 2022!
It costs around $500 to train each new Story Island volunteer. Right now, we’re trying to raise $5000 to ensure that we have a group of well prepared, compassionate volunteers to help our students in 2026.
If you could make a contribution to training one volunteer, you’ll be giving Tassie kids the opportunity to build their confidence, creativity and wellbeing.
Volunteer recruitment 2026
Want to visit other planets, go camping, and lose (then find) a precious necklace? Keen to encounter monsters, magic trees and cool crystal caves – all without leaving the classroom? Then becoming a Story Island volunteer tutor in 2026 might just be your kind of adventure!
In 2026, we’re running a range of creative writing programs at schools in the Clarence Plains area, beginning with our Choose Your Own Adventure workshops at Rokeby Primary School on Tuesday mornings in Term 1. These programs are supported by Arts Tasmania, and have been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Each eight-week program consists of weekly 90-minute workshops that build young people’s creative skills and confidence, supporting their participation in authentic, ‘real world’ arts experiences.
And you don’t have to have teaching or writing skills to be a great Story Island volunteer. All you need a love of stories and a commitment to share the spark of creativity with young people. It’s heaps of fun, and incredibly rewarding. Trained story leaders plan and lead our workshop sessions. For more info, read our Volunteer position description.
We give our volunteers a free training session for volunteers before your first workshop. Please note that we require all volunteers to have a current Working With Vulnerable People card and to complete the Department for Education, Training and Young People’s Safeguarding Training for volunteers. We encourage all volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and to participate in COVID-safe behaviours.
Click here to sign up as a volunteer, or see below for some frequently asked questions about volunteering with the Story Island Project. Feel free to contact us if you have any other questions.
Volunteer spotlight: susanne
There have been times in Susanne’s life when she’s viewed reading fiction as a ‘bit of a waste of [her] precious spare time’.
‘When I was a child, I used to read and write tons of stories,’ she says.
‘But as I got older and life got busier…I started to only read non-fiction because at least that felt useful to me, like I was learning/doing something productive.’
Everything changed for Susanne when her mother died unexpectedly a few years ago, and a special book ‘became a lifeline… and a reminder of the power of stories’.
‘I came across a review of The Midnight Library [by Matt Haig] in a magazine. Not long after, I saw it on display while shopping. For some reason, I felt like I had to buy it. It sat on my bedside table for weeks, and every time I thought about reading it, I’d tell myself there were more important things to do.
‘Then my mum passed away very suddenly. I was devastated and struggling with grief, and one long, sleepless night I finally picked up the book.
‘It gave me a way to escape, a brief reprieve from reality and my grief.
‘Since then, I don’t see fiction as a waste of time at all – it’s a kind of therapy for a busy (or hurting) mind, a way to spark imagination, see life from different perspectives, and sometimes just find comfort and hope when you need it most.’
Believe it or not, Susanne found out about Story Island through one of these Volunteer Spotlight profiles!
‘I had some spare time and had been trying to find a meaningful way to fill it when I saw someone share their Story Island ‘volunteer spotlight’ interview on Facebook,’ she says.
‘I love stories and enjoy working with children, so Story Island seemed like the perfect way to combine both.’
Susanne ‘loves everything’ about volunteering for Story Island, but one thing stands out the most.
‘My favourite thing is definitely the wonderful people you get to meet – the kids at the workshops, the school staff, and especially the warm, welcoming and supportive Story Island staff and fellow volunteers,’ she says.
As a Story Island volunteer, Susanne has many opportunities to share the power of storytelling with young people, and to see the difference it can make:
There are so many moments where you can feel like you’re making a small difference with the students. I've worked with a couple of students now who started the workshops disengaged or insisting that they’re ‘not creative’.
By taking the time to build rapport and discovering their interests and strengths, I’ve seen these same students end up producing fantastic ideas and work that they are genuinely proud of. It’s incredibly rewarding to encourage these creative minds and witness the enjoyment and confidence that storytelling can bring.
Susanne also volunteers with Guide Dogs Tasmania, boarding dogs.
‘It’s always a bit of fun having a dog stay with us, and I love getting to know their personalities,’ she says.
‘It’s also really rewarding to know I’m helping in a small way with the very important work they go on to do.’
Frequently asked questions
about volunteering with Story Island
What is involved in volunteering in workshops?
Download a copy of our Volunteer Tutor position description.
Our volunteers work alongside young people in our workshops, giving one-on-one support and encouragement to help young people with their writing. Workshops cover a wide range of areas, but all focus on creative writing. As a volunteer, you may work with young people on narrative fiction, poetry, a script, a radio podcast, a short film, memoir, letter, comic strip, or any number of creative projects.
Workshops are either one-offs or, much more often, a series that runs for 8 weeks through a school term. When signing up for a workshop series, we ask volunteers to sign up for the full series so you can work with the same students each week across the whole project.
Apart from workshop volunteers, we also need volunteers to assist with behind-the-scenes tasks like typing up students’ writing and other administrative tasks. When you sign up, please indicate if you have any other relevant skills that we could use!
Do I need to have teaching experience to be a volunteer tutor?
Not at all! Our volunteers come from a range of professional backgrounds. To be a great volunteer, you just need a love of the English language and a commitment to share the spark of creativity with young people. Trained storytellers plan and lead our workshop sessions; volunteers are there to offer individual support and encouragement to young people.
We give all Story Island volunteers a training/orientation session before their first workshop, and require all volunteers to have a current Working with Vulnerable People Card.
Where and when do workshops happen?
Most workshops take place in schools and community centres on weekdays between 9am–3pm.
I’d like to volunteer, but I have more questions!
Not sure if you’re a good match for us? Feel free to get in touch with us with any questions or concerns you might have about the volunteer roles, training process or anything at all! Jen, our Volunteer Coordinator, is happy to chat to prospective volunteers.
I’m in! Sign me up!
Wonderful! We can’t wait for you to join us. Just fill in our registration form; you’ll soon receive an email letting you know the next available training session dates, after which you’ll be eligible to volunteer at any of our workshops.
I’m not able to volunteer, how else can I support Story Island?
It costs around $500 to train each new Story Island volunteer, ensuring that they have the skills and mindset to allow students' creativity to flourish. If you could make a contribution to training one volunteer, you’ll be giving Tassie kids the opportunity to build their confidence, creativity and wellbeing.