The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares is a children’s charity based in Bridport, Dorset. We are a creative writing centre for children aged between 7 and 18 years old. We work on the principle that creative writing can change lives, and by creating an environment that allows children to explore the possibilities can have transformative results. Here we provide child led workshops in storytelling assisted by one to one mentoring via our story volunteers. All the inspiring workshops are developed with teachers and industry professionals that not only challenge writing but all of them have real outcomes at the end. So it could be anything from having a story published, recording a podcast or having a campaign film professionally made, to show the children just how far their writing can take them. It is transformative stuff! We work with schools during term times providing class visits to the Bank, and out of school workshops during the holidays often with events held at the conclusion from theatre productions to movie premiere events.

All our programmes are run by teams of volunteer writing mentors and illustrators – people just like YOU.

We’re always looking for new volunteer mentors to help out at our daily weekday workshops with primary and secondary school classes, our evening and weekend programmes and our summer camps. No previous experience is necessary! Anyone who enjoys working in a creative environment with the individuals and groups that come to our centre - and is a good listener - is welcome to volunteer. You don't need to be a writer or a teacher to be a Bank of Dreams and Nightmares volunteer writing mentor.

We run a variety of workshops at the The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares. Here are some examples: 

Storymaking  - This is a one-off, 2 hour workshop that we run for primary school classes of up to 30 children. They arrive at the The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares with nothing but their imaginations and leave as published writers. In the first half of the workshop the class collaborate to create the beginning of a story and in the second half they write their own individual endings. Writing Mentors encourage and support children throughout the whole process. By the end of the workshop, each child leaves with their own personalised book containing the group’s beginning, their own individual ending and illustrations based on the children’s ideas by one of our brilliant Volunteer Illustrators. 

Secondary School Writing Workshops  - These are also writing projects usually of 10 weekly sessions during term time. The workshops will usually be led by one of our Creative Learning Team or a workshop leader. These workshops aim to give young people a real insight into what it’s like to be a professional writer, including writing to deadlines, working as a team and working with editors. Examples of past workshops include TV scriptwriting, copywriting and spoken word. Writing Mentors play a vital role in developing writers’ confidence and skills, helping to channel pupils’ ideas and energy into their writing. 

After School Writing Clubs  - These are for local children and young people who want to do more writing in their own time. They take place after school during the week or on Saturday mornings and children attend each week. Projects in the past have included anthologies of short stories and poems and creating a story map of Hoxton. As with the schools projects, Writing Mentors support young people each week and help with editing and producing the finished piece of work. Sometimes, we choose to explore one particular form of a writing in a big project, which is a great chance to see an idea through from the beginning to the finished article – like creating a campaign for a local cause and getting it a film made professionally to present to people in power.

Holiday Writing Projects  - We also run projects that take place during half-term or the holidays. Young people may sign up for a project that lasts between three days to two weeks. Here, children will work together with Writing Mentors to produce a publication. An example of this could be, a local newspaper written by young people or a walking guide to the local area.

Ideally we ask you to sign up for a minimum of 6 sessions, over 6 months, but whatever you can commit to is amazing for us. We offer training sessions before any workshops are attended so you feel comfortable with our system and principles. All volunteers will be required to have an enhanced DBS check as we are working with children and young people.

We also require volunteers for other fun roles like bank managers, bank clerks, publishers and many more. So please get in touch and show your interest and we can send you more information.