spellbinders.org

Spellbinders.org highlights media coverage of its volunteer storytellers and names several local storytelling groups. The homepage specifically features CBS news coverage of Broomfield and Boulder Valley Spellbinders, Rocky Mountain PBS coverage of High Prairie Storytellers, and an Aspen Public Radio broadcast of Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers. It also notes a "Liar's Contest" held on March 30 by Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers, judged by NPR's Peter Saga of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me.

Media Coverage Featured on the Homepage

The site's "In the News" and "on the Radio" sections point to the following:

The radio item also mentions the "Liar's Contest" held on March 30, with NPR's Peter Saga as celebrity judge.

Local Chapters and Groups Named

The homepage names these storyteller groups:

• Broomfield Spellbinders — featured in CBS news coverage
• Boulder Valley Spellbinders — featured in CBS news coverage
• High Prairie Storytellers — featured by Rocky Mountain PBS
• Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers — featured on Aspen Public Radio and organizers of the "Liar's Contest"

These are the only local groups explicitly named in the available page content. The site describes Spellbinders generally as a non-profit organization of volunteers who bring oral storytelling into classrooms within their own communities, so local chapters operate community by community.

What Else the Homepage Offers

Beyond news and chapters, the homepage provides entry points for:

• Current storytellers — a quick reference guide with stories, links, lists, and notes for leaders and trainers.
• New volunteers — a "Become a Spellbinders Trained Volunteer Storyteller" path, framed as good for kids, teachers, volunteers, and the local community.
• Teachers — an invitation to bring a trained storyteller into the classroom, described as enhancing literacy and supporting curriculum.
• Supporters — a donation appeal asking for a few hours to "ignite children's imaginations in a school near you."

The page also includes testimonials from volunteers and educators. One Broomfield teacher described a storyteller as "mesmerizing" and noted that the visit connected to class history topics. A Basalt Elementary School teacher emphasized how oral language and auditory processing support young readers and writers. Volunteers quoted include Karen Hurst ("more fun than any human has a right to have") and Patrick McCarthy, who described the reward of a fourth-grade class smiling and clapping.

How to Use This Information

If you want to see Spellbinders in action or read about specific chapters, start with the news and radio links on the homepage. If you are a teacher or prospective volunteer, the "Start Volunteering" and "Learn More" sections are the relevant entry points. Note that the available page content does not list contact details, meeting schedules, or chapter locations beyond the group names above.

Spellbinders.org has a dedicated page for teachers who want a trained volunteer storyteller to visit their classroom. The site's "Teachers: Invite a Storyteller to Your Classroom!" section is the starting point: it explains how a Spellbinders-trained storyteller enhances literacy and supports your curriculum, and it is the entry point for making a request. The organization is a non-profit run by volunteers who bring oral storytelling into classrooms within their own communities, so availability depends on whether there is an active group of trained storytellers near your school.

What a classroom visit involves

A Spellbinders storyteller is a trained volunteer who tells stories orally to students. According to the site, the program is designed to:

• Enhance literacy
• Support the teacher's existing curriculum
• Create connections between young and old
• Enrich the lives of children and volunteers alike

The emphasis is on oral language and listening rather than on reading from a book, which is why teachers describe it as complementing what students are already studying.

What teachers report after a visit

The site collects teacher feedback that gives a realistic picture of what to expect:

• Attention and engagement. A Broomfield teacher described a storyteller as "simply wonderful," noting that "her ease of addressing children was immediately apparent and her storytelling was mesmerizing."
• Curriculum fit. The same teacher said the visit "went along with stories or history we were already discussing in class," and that students turned to her "wide-eyed, knowing they were making connections."
• Retell and recall. A Basalt Elementary School teacher wrote that the class discussed the story afterward and "they were amazing with their retell and recall," adding that oral language and auditory processing are crucial at that developmental level.
• Story structure for young writers. That teacher also noted that to become good writers and readers, children need to understand the structure of a story — something an oral telling models directly.

How to make the request

1. Go to spellbinders.org and open the "Teachers: Invite a Storyteller to Your Classroom!" section.
2. Read the "Learn More" material there to understand what the program offers your grade level and subject.
3. Use that page to begin the invitation process with the Spellbinders group serving your area.

The site does not publish a single national booking form or phone number in the material available; because Spellbinders is organized as local volunteer communities, the practical path is to reach the group active in your district. If your area has no group, the site's "Become a Spellbinders Trained Volunteer Storyteller!" and "Start Volunteering" sections describe how new storytellers are trained — useful if you or a community member wants to help start coverage.

Practical things to sort out before the visit

• Timing and fit. Tell the storyteller which stories or history topics you are already covering, since teachers report the visit works best when it connects to current class material.
• Grade level. The examples on the site come from elementary classrooms (fourth grade and Basalt Elementary are mentioned), so confirm the storyteller's experience matches your students' ages.
• Follow-up. Plan a few minutes after the visit for retell and recall discussion, which teachers found valuable.

If there is no storyteller nearby

Spellbinders is explicitly a volunteer, community-based organization. If no trained storyteller serves your school, the site's volunteer path — "Become a Spellbinders Trained Volunteer Storyteller!" — is the route to building local capacity, whether you recruit a community member or consider training yourself.

Spellbinders is a non-profit organization of volunteers who bring oral storytelling into classrooms within their own communities. According to the organization, the benefits reach three groups at once: children, teachers, and the volunteers themselves. Oral storytelling is described as good for kids, teachers, and volunteers — and good for the local community. The specific benefits below come from what Spellbinders and the educators it works with report on spellbinders.org.

Benefits for Children

Spellbinders frames its storytelling program as a way to bring young and old together to create connections, advance literacy, and enrich the lives of children and volunteers alike. Teachers who have hosted a trained storyteller describe concrete classroom effects:

• Literacy and story structure. One teacher noted that to become good writers and readers, children need to understand the structure of a story, and that oral storytelling supports this directly.
• Oral language and auditory processing. The same teacher emphasized that oral language and auditory processing are crucial at young children's developmental level.
• Retell and recall. After a storyteller's visit, the class discussed the story, and the teacher reported the children "were amazing with their retell and recall."
• Engagement and imagination. A Broomfield teacher described a storyteller as "simply wonderful," with an ease of addressing children that was immediately apparent and storytelling that was "mesmerizing." The program's stated aim is to ignite children's imaginations.

Benefits for Teachers

Teachers can invite a Spellbinders trained storyteller into their classroom. According to the site, having a trained storyteller in the classroom enhances literacy and supports the curriculum. A teacher from Broomfield highlighted that the storytelling "went along with stories or history we were already discussing in class," which "really added to the enjoyment," and loved seeing kids "wide-eyed, knowing they were making connections." In other words, the benefit is a classroom experience that reinforces what teachers are already teaching rather than competing with it.

Benefits for Volunteers and the Community

Spellbinders presents volunteering as rewarding in its own right. Two volunteer quotes on the site make the point:

• "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

The organization also states that Spellbinders and storytelling support healthy aging, and that its program creates connections between generations. Volunteers are asked to donate a few hours to ignite children's imaginations in a school near them.

How to Get These Benefits

• Teachers: Invite a Spellbinders trained storyteller to your classroom to enhance literacy and support your curriculum.
• Prospective volunteers: Become a Spellbinders trained volunteer storyteller. The site notes that oral storytelling is good for kids, teachers, and volunteers, and for the local community.
• Current storytellers: A quick reference guide is available with stories, links, lists, and notes for leaders and trainers.

For a fuller picture of the organization, see what Spellbinders.org is; for the volunteer path, see how to become a Spellbinders volunteer storyteller; and for the classroom path, see how teachers can invite a Spellbinders storyteller.

Spellbinders is a non-profit organization of volunteers who bring oral storytelling into classrooms in their own communities. To become a volunteer storyteller, you start through the "Start Volunteering" path on spellbinders.org and complete Spellbinders training, which is what qualifies you as a "Spellbinders Trained Volunteer Storyteller." The site describes the role as good for kids, teachers, volunteers, and the local community, so the main requirements are a willingness to train and a commitment of a few hours to tell stories in a school near you.

What the role involves

Spellbinders volunteers tell stories in person to students, typically in classroom settings. The organization frames this as a way to create connections between young and old, advance literacy, and enrich the lives of both children and volunteers.

Two volunteer perspectives on the site describe 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

The site also notes that storytelling supports healthy aging, which is relevant if you are considering volunteering later in life or recruiting older adults.

Steps to get started

1. Go to the Start Volunteering section of spellbinders.org. This is the entry point the site provides for people who want to join.
2. Complete Spellbinders training. The site distinguishes between volunteers generally and "Spellbinders Trained Volunteer Storyteller," so training is the step that makes you eligible to tell stories under the Spellbinders program.
3. Connect with your local community. Spellbinders volunteers tell stories "within their own communities," so your volunteering happens in schools near you rather than through a centralized placement.
4. If you are already a trained storyteller, use the Quick Reference guide on the site. It is described as helping you find stories, links, lists, notes for leaders and trainers, and more.

If you are an educator inviting a storyteller

Teachers have a separate path: the site's "Invite a Storyteller to Your Classroom" section explains how having a Spellbinders Trained Storyteller in your classroom enhances literacy and supports your curriculum. Teachers who have hosted storytellers describe the visits in specific terms:

• A Broomfield teacher said the storyteller's ease with children was immediately apparent and her storytelling was mesmerizing, and that the stories connected to class history or reading topics added to the enjoyment — "I loved having the kids turn to me wide-eyed, knowing they were making connections."
• A Basalt Elementary School teacher thanked the storyteller for visiting and noted that oral language and auditory processing are crucial at that developmental level, and that the class was "amazing with their retell and recall" afterward.

What Spellbinders does beyond classrooms

The site's news section shows volunteers active in public media and events, which gives a sense of the broader community around the program:

• CBS news featured Broomfield and Boulder Valley Spellbinders.
• Rocky Mountain PBS featured High Prairie Storytellers.
• Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers held a "Liar's Contest" on March 30 with NPR's Peter Sagal of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! as celebrity judge; the program was broadcast on Aspen Public Radio.

What to check before committing

The site does not publish a fee, schedule, or training format in the material available here, so confirm those details through the Start Volunteering section or your local Spellbinders group. What is clear from the site is the sequence: express interest through Start Volunteering, get trained, then tell stories in schools in your community — or, if you are a teacher, request a trained storyteller for your classroom.

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

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.