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.
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 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!
Volunteer recruitment 2024
In 2024, we’re running a range of creative writing programs at a range of schools in the greater Hobart area. These programs are supported by Arts Tasmania.
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.
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 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: serena
Earlier this year, Serena was looking for a meaningful volunteering opportunity. She even attended induction sessions with a few organisations, but couldn’t seem to find the right fit.
‘That was when Story Island came along,’ she says.
‘Being a writer and lover of learning, it was the marriage of creativity and inspiring writing within the early school years that had me hooked.’
Serena joined the Story Island volunteer team for our Term 3 A Trunk Full of Stories program at Clarendon Vale Primary School, and really enjoyed the experience.
‘I loved listening to all of the wild and wacky stories that the kids came up with,’ Serena says.
‘It felt like a privilege to witness a youthful creative state in free flow.
‘It made me realise how much as adults we lose sight of that child-like wonder that we all still have access to, if only we allow our minds the time to wander unstimulated and free.’
Serena says it was also a highlight to ‘share the experience with like-minded, creatively spirited volunteers’.
One way that Serena nurtures her own creative spirit in her free time is by reading Tarot cards.
‘Only the other weekend I had a bunch of friends hovered around a candle light pulling cards in a hazy, incense filled room — so yeah, you can say my Saturday nights are pretty wild these days!
‘Interpreting the cards is a creative act in itself, and a really cool way to spark storytelling and deeper conversation among friends.’
Serena’s love of storytelling and conversation — as well as her patience — proved incredibly valuable in connecting with students in Story Island workshops:
I had been working closely with this one girl for the entire term, let's call her Kara. Our first few workshops together were hard going. Her engagement was low. She didn't have a lot of confidence in her ideas. Some days she would rest her head on the desk, more excited by the prospect of sleep than in me helping her write her story. Week by week she began to open up and engage more. Turns out she was full of fun and creative zombie story ideas.
In our last session together we decorated our name tags with all of the sparkly tape and colourful pens we could find. Kara gifted me one of her shiny pink star stickers to place on my name tag before asking if Story Island would be back again next year. Turns out she loved it.
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.