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EnglishWhat Is Spellbinders.org?
Updated
Spellbinders.org is the home of Spellbinders, a non-profit organization of volunteers who bring oral storytelling into classrooms within their own communities. If you are a teacher looking for a classroom storyteller, a prospective volunteer, or someone trying to understand what the organization does, the site is organized around three main paths: volunteering, inviting a storyteller to your classroom, and supporting the program.
What Spellbinders Does
Spellbinders trains volunteers as storytellers and connects them with local schools. According to the organization, oral storytelling benefits kids, teachers, and volunteers, and it strengthens the local community.
The program's stated goals are to:
- Bring young and old together to create connections
- Advance literacy
- Enrich the lives of children and volunteers alike
Volunteers are asked to donate a few hours to tell stories in a school near them.
Who It Serves
| Audience | What the site offers |
|---|---|
| Prospective volunteers | Information on becoming a trained volunteer storyteller and starting to volunteer |
| Teachers | Guidance on inviting a trained storyteller to your classroom and how it supports literacy and curriculum |
| Current storytellers | A quick reference guide with stories, links, lists, and notes for leaders and trainers |
| Donors and community members | A way to support the program by donating time |
How Storytellers Are Trained and Deployed
The site describes volunteers as "Spellbinders Trained Volunteer Storytellers," meaning storytellers go through training before entering classrooms. Once trained, they work within their own communities rather than being assigned from a central pool.
The organization also maintains reference material for active storytellers, including stories, links, lists, and notes for leaders and trainers, accessible through a quick reference guide.
What Educators Say
The site collects feedback from teachers who have hosted storytellers. One teacher from Broomfield described a storyteller as "simply wonderful," noting her ease with children and that the storytelling connected to stories or history already being discussed in class. A teacher from Basalt Elementary School emphasized that oral language and auditory processing are crucial at that developmental level, and that students were strong in retelling and recalling the story afterward.
Volunteer Perspectives
Two volunteer quotes on the site give a sense of the experience:
- "Telling stories as a Spellbinder volunteer gives me more fun than any human has a right to have." — Karen Hurst
- "You'll never have more fun and you will never, ever experience as special of a reward as having a group of fourth graders smile and clap when you tell a good story. It is very rewarding." — Patrick McCarthy
Community Activity
Spellbinders groups are active beyond classrooms. The site highlights coverage of Broomfield and Boulder Valley Spellbinders by CBS news and High Prairie Storytellers by Rocky Mountain PBS. It also notes a "Liar's Contest" held on March 30 by Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers, judged by NPR's Peter Sagal of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, with the full program broadcast on Aspen Public Radio.
The site also references storytelling's role in supporting healthy aging, framing the program as beneficial to both the children who hear stories and the older volunteers who tell them.
How to Get Involved
- To volunteer: Start by reviewing the information on becoming a trained volunteer storyteller, then begin volunteering in a school near you.
- To host a storyteller: Teachers can learn how a trained Spellbinders storyteller enhances literacy and supports the curriculum.
- If you are already a storyteller: Use the quick reference guide to find stories, links, lists, and notes for leaders and trainers.
The site does not publish pricing information, and no membership fees or costs are described in the available material.