Growing impact beyond rural roots

Settle Stories is a small charity with an ambitious vision: to share the power of storytelling with children and communities locally and around the world. Based in the rural Yorkshire town of Settle, with a population of just over 2,000 people, the organisation runs the Yorkshire Festival of Story and develops digital storytelling resources for schools. With only a handful of paid staff, volunteers are essential to making this work possible.

For Settle Stories, Reach has become a vital route to finding the skilled volunteers the charity needs to survive and thrive.

Before discovering Reach, recruiting volunteers was challenging. Local opportunities were limited, and the charity’s rural location made it difficult to reach people with specialist skills. As Emma Thompson, who has worked at Settle Stories for two years, explains, being introduced to Reach transformed their approach. Through Reach, the charity could advertise roles clearly, reach a much wider audience and connect with people who wanted to share professional skills remotely.

Enhancing the storytelling experience

Today, Settle Stories works with around 135 volunteers, many of whom were recruited through Reach. Illustrators form the largest group. They play a crucial role in the charity’s “Stories for Schools” digital library, where each story is accompanied by between seven and ten bespoke illustrations. These illustrations enhance the storytelling experience for children in early years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 classrooms, both in the UK and internationally. The majority of this creative work is done remotely, making it accessible to volunteers from across the country and beyond.

Reach has enabled Settle Stories to attract a diverse mix of illustrators: those building their portfolios, experienced professionals between jobs, people returning to work after health challenges and retirees looking for a meaningful creative outlet. In return, volunteers gain real-world briefs, feedback, public credit for their work and the opportunity to see their illustrations used in classrooms around the world.

Strengthening governance and team capacity

Beyond creative roles, Reach has also helped Settle Stories strengthen its governance and organisational capacity. Several trustees, including the charity’s chair, were recruited through Reach. These trustees bring senior-level experience in branding, marketing and strategy from major organisations, helping the charity make informed decisions and plan for long-term sustainability. Skills-based volunteers have also supported rebranding, graphic design, copywriting and animation – work that would have been unaffordable without pro bono support.

The impact is tangible. Settle Stories now has a growing digital library of illustrated stories used by schools in dozens of countries, alongside an international online festival audience. Emma is clear about the difference Reach has made: “Without volunteers recruited through Reach, we would have struggled to create the educational resources and website we have today – nor would we have the breadth of expertise around our board table.”

Just as importantly, the relationship is a two-way one. Volunteering offers purpose, confidence and support to people at different stages of their lives and careers. For Settle Stories, Reach is more than a recruitment platform – it’s a lifeline that connects skills, creativity and social impact, enabling a small charity to reach far beyond its rural roots.

Image courtesy of Settle Stories: An illustration of The Chief's Wedding by Olasumbo Wright