Volunteer
We couldn’t hope to achieve any of what we do without the support of our committed team of volunteers each of whom brings their unique set of life skills, professional experience and dedication to making a difference to the lives of children and young people.
Volunteer Roles
Story mentors
Story mentors work alongside our workshop leaders, providing children and young people attending our workshops with in-depth support in developing writing skills and story lines. We provide a safe and pressure-free environment where children can explore their imaginations, build their confidence and communication skills and simply have fun with words.
You don’t have to be a teacher or a writer to be a volunteer story mentor. We give you training on what to expect from a workshop, and on our Safeguarding policy. New volunteers are then invited to shadow a current Story Mentor during a workshop, which works as an immersive training experience, and is a great opportunity to meet fellow volunteers and get to know the children and young people.
Our current regular workshops take place during term time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 15:00-17:00.. We also have one off workshops and projects which take place during various times throughout the year.
‘It was so much fun. I didn’t know what to expect. I went in and you had all the kids playing these crazy roles that they would never have been doing in any other circumstance, and they were really getting into it… I thought it was super awesome.’
— Fin, volunteer actor in our City Life soap opera
Illustrators, cartoonists & graphic novelists…
We’re always in need of experienced illustrators to bring the young writers’ stories to life with pictures at our After School Clubs and short term projects. You don’t need to have worked on children’s illustrations before, you just need illustrative experience and the confidence to translate children’s ideas into pictures. You also need to be ‘quick on the draw’ as you’ll be mainly illustrating in our storymaking workshops in front of children.
‘Volunteering as an illustrator for Little Green Pig is exciting and dynamic. You have to be ready with your pen, pencil or whatever, responding to the young people’s ideas and imaginations, sometimes asking a question or two if you need more detail about a character or a setting. It is incredibly rewarding to see the children’s enjoyment when their characters ‘come to life’ in your drawing.’ - Ottilie, Volunteer Illustrator
Benefits of volunteering
We believe passionately in the value of what we do at Little Green Pig, and hope you will too. There’s a raft of benefits and skills you can gain through volunteering with us:
● Training and experience in working with children and young people in education and the arts.
● New skills and developing your writing practice.
● Work experience and development opportunities.
● New friends and creative contacts.
● Regular social events and get-togethers with other volunteers.
● Lots of gratitude, feeling part of a community and perhaps most importantly, seeing that moment of epiphany when you’ve sparked a young child’s imagination.
“Before and after every workshop session during the Soap Opera Project, volunteers at Little Green Pig were invited to fill out a Wellbeing Survey. Filling this survey out meant I had a chance to reflect on how volunteering has positively affected my mental health and the way I see myself.
This project demonstrates that Little Green Pig cares about their volunteers and their personal wellbeing. It’s further made me understand just how appreciated we all are here!”
— Natalie, Volunteer Story mentor
Find out more about volunteering
You can find the answer to many questions from our volunteers on our FAQ.
How to volunteer
Please be aware we ask our volunteers to commit to volunteering for at least six workshops over a period of six months when they start volunteering with us. The majority of our workshops take place during Monday-Thursday, 12-5pm.
To express your interest in becoming a volunteer please complete this form or if you prefer to contact us directly, you can email sally@littlegreenpig.org.uk, or call 01273 234 776.
Other ways to get involved:
Support Little Green Pig via our Just Giving Page
Find out about fundraising for Little Green Pig