Our Vision

We believe that Oral Storytelling:

  • Is a natural avenue to help children develop literacy skills by engendering a love of stories, both oral and written, enabling them to dream and hope.
  • Builds connections between generations, eye to eye and heart to heart.
  • Shares the wisdom, values, humor, and sense of community embodied in stories coming from many cultures throughout time.
  • Fosters awareness of the importance of virtues such as mutual respect, integrity, perseverance, empathy, and cooperation.

Oral Storytelling is much different than reading a book aloud. Listening to stories orally told with eye-to-eye contact and accompanying gestures:

  • Creates a love of story, which translates into an interest in reading.
  • Increases listening skills and comprehension, as well as language development.
  • Stimulates a listener’s imagination, including making mental pictures of words in sequence – this is critical to reading comprehension.
  • Provides children with positive, character-building role models based upon folktales, legends, and stories of many cultures and lives.

Who We Are

Our Spellbinders® community is composed of a Council of Trustees (sometimes referred to as Spellbinders® National),  and nonprofit Licensed Local Storyteller Organizations (LLSO). The LLSOs train volunteer storytellers using Spellbinders® Certified Trainers and Licensed Spellbinders® Intellectual Training materials. Spellbinders® Council of Trustees and Spellbinders® Trained volunteer storytellers represent Spellbinders® in ways that are consistent with our Preamble, Purpose and Principles and the Standards and Guidelines. They share best practices and talents with each other to strengthen our entire storytelling community. Together we strive to share the art of oral storytelling in accordance with the Spellbinders® Preamble, Purpose and support our Spellbinders® trained volunteer storytellers to realize and share their love of storytelling and the joy and power of stories.

Members of our Spellbinders® Council of Trustees are the designated spokespeople for Spellbinders® and facilitate communication among the LLSOs. This is an all volunteer council, which includes volunteer storytellers from different LLSOs, as well as non-storytellers who serve in an advisory role. Anyone can be nominated to serve on the council.

Storytelling’s Boost to Literacy

Oral storytelling is much different than reading a book aloud. Listening to stories orally told with the eye-to-eye contact, the accompanying gestures, and the warmth of a gift freely given:

  • Creates a love of story which, translates into an interest in reading.
  • Increases listening comprehension.
  • Increases vocabulary.
  • Stimulates a child’s imagination, including making mental pictures of words in sequence.  This skill is critical to reading comprehension

“Stories are at the heart of learning and are a wonderful way to engage students’ creative thinking and creative writing skills. Storytelling represents a universal language of communication. It provides opportunities to learn how different cultures view the world. It encourages students to tell their own stories. That is how we foster creative writing.”

Judith Johnson, Superintendent, Peekskill, NY

Redefining Life for Healthier Senior Years

Spellbinders’ unique program restores elders to their traditional role in society…that of the keepers of the wisdom. Storytelling is an art form, and like the practice of all arts, the rewards are great. Research shows that older adults who remain meaningfully engaged in their community are healthier by far than those who are not, including:

  • Better overall physical health and fewer doctor visits.
  • Fewer falls.
  • Better scores on depression and loneliness scales.
  • A 30% smaller increase in medication use.

Additionally, learning and re-creating stories improves memory and helps minds stay agile.

Storytelling: The Yarn that Weaves Community Together

Spellbinders’ unique program actively works to build strong, caring relationships between older adults and youth in a community, relationships that are proven to strengthen community.

Stories told in a vivid, gripping manner expose children to positive, character-building role models, both in the stories and in the adult delivering them.

The eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart contact of a spoken story creates a sense of closeness between the teller and listeners that makes every child hearing the story feel it is being told for him or her alone. 

Spellbinders delivers its program by inspiring interested volunteers to join an existing Spellbinders Licensed Local Storyteller Organization (LLSO) or start a new Spellbinders LLSO to serve your city or county or a particular community or school district. With the help of the Spellbinders National office, each licensee recruits its own volunteers, secures its own funding, and engages the services of a Certified Spellbinders Trainer to train volunteers using time-tested and accredited Spellbinders materials and techniques.

“Watching those little eyes shine with wonderment and feeling those bright minds in the palm of my hand was a magical moment. I had more gratification telling those kids stories than I had doing my most important business deal.”

— Spellbinders Volunteer

“I’ve been wondering about the role of elders in our culture, how we can restore them to their traditional place, where they stand with grace and authority, honored as guardians of wisdom and keepers of the stories. Being a Spellbinder is not just a nice addition to my life; it in fact has transformed it, shifted and re-defined my priorities.”

— Spellbinders Volunteer

What are you waiting for? Volunteer today!