Community Storytellers
Community Storytellers is an initiative aimed at enabling storytelling sessions for groups in need (like orphanages, children’s care homes, low-income educational spaces, community learning centers, and open libraries).
This opportunity is particularly suited for individuals who are retired, homemakers, students, or professionals with financial security, allowing them the freedom and emotional capacity to contribute to society. We focus on offering training and support to anyone who is passionate about storytelling to make a difference.
Applicants train alongside teachers, educators, and helping professionals from our regular learning workshops. After three months of weekly workshops, they begin volunteering with an organization in their city that welcomes their work. We offer some guidance in choosing organisation, establishing rapport and setting terms of engagement.
As part of their commitment, volunteers conduct storytelling sessions. These sessions include them being playful, telling stories and creating a space for children to express themselves through art forms (visual arts, drama, music, movement). The purpose is not to 'teach' these art forms, but to let children experience and enjoy them.
Volunteers need to be intrinsically motivated for consistent work and reporting. We may connect with partner organisations from time to time to track progress. Volunteers are expected to offer these sessions on a voluntary basis (without charging a fee from children/organisations). Any material costs can be shared with the host organization based on mutual understanding.
In our pilots, we noticed that offering this for free makes a lot of people sign-up. We aren't prepared to scale this for now. Also, it leads to drop-outs during learning and volunteering which becomes counter productive.
Hence, volunteers are required to pay a refundable fee of Rs 12000 for the learning workshops (the regular fee that other participants pay). We waive this fee for exceptional practitioners who have a demonstrated history of learning and using storytelling, rooted in the spirit of volunteering, and community building.
This fee adds to their accountability to learning and volunteering process. When volunteers successfully volunteer for 30 weeks, the fee is refunded on a pro-rata basis, contingent upon regular volunteering and reporting. We expect volunteers to conduct weekly sessions of 2 hours.
Pro-rata fee refunds [30 sessions of 2 hours * Rs 400 per session = Rs 12,000]
For example, if a volunteer completes all 30 weekly workshops, (12 * 400 = Rs 12,000) is refunded.
If they were able to only facilitate 20/30 workshops in a quarter, (20 * Rs 400 = Rs 8000) is refunded.
If a volunteer chooses not to seek refunds out of goodwill, the fee is used to subsidise another candidate's fee as 'paying forward'. Also, there is no shame or penalty in failing to, or choosing not to volunteer after learning process. Though the fee paid for learning is not refunded.
Upon successfully volunteering for a year, volunteers effectively receive their training and support at zero cost or very little cost while making a genuine contribution in children's lives. Their efforts are recognized through certificates and occasional social media acknowledgments highlighting their contributions. They are encouraged to continue volunteering with giving guidance to new set of volunteers.