For the past year, we have had the help and dedication of J. Nathan Matias. Nathan has spent the past few years working with new technology startups and various projects within charities, literature and the arts. Nathan came to us early on thanks to an introduction via the Sainsbury Family Trusts. The fact that the Ministry teaches through fun resonated with the lessons his parents taught him growing up “the best parts of learning aren’t found in memorisation or test scores, but in creativity.”

Though Nathan is leaving us to start his graduate studies at the MIT Media Lab, he still plans on continuing the spirit of MoS “For my first project, I plan to look at ways that software may help charity startups like the MoS organise volunteers during the first few months of figuring out their mission and services. I can’t wait to start!”

We are very sorry to see Nathan go but we are sure we will keep in touch with him and we haven’t been left completely high and dry.

When we were told about Nathan’s departure, we put out word that we were looking for help and you responded. We have been lucky enough to enlist three new tech volunteers to help us keep going and growing.

Tony Ports was the first to join us back in March. Tony was “a frustrated pop star [who] fell into the IT industry at the tender age of 16, simply wanting to raise some cash for a synthesiser.” When Tony’s dream of fame did not materialise, he decided to continue in IT and has worked for organisations such as Readers Digest, Guardian News and Media, and News International.Tony had been following us for a while and after some gentle nudging from an author friend, Tony applied to be a technical advisor and we couldn’t be happier “Meeting everyone at the Ministry has been a delight, and they’re all so very enthusiastic, which is infectious.”

Recently, Tony has acquired a taste for travelling and has seen many places from Rio to Moscow. Helping the Ministry hasn’t clipped his wings though and he is still ticking off the countries on his list.

Barry Irvine is our second volunteer in our trusted trio. Barry has worked in the IT industry for many years and has spent the last decade living and working in the Netherlands. This hard-working, Dutch speaking Brit took a belated gap year recently and had some exciting adventures including climbing Kilimanjaro, working with lions in Zimbabwe and travelling the length of South America (you can read about his travels here). After so many adventures, Barry has decided to settle in the UK and has been exploring the world of Android applications, releasing his own downloadable game. But when Barry heard that we were looking for help, he did not hesitate to get in touch “I’ve always had a great interest in writing and have made a few attempts at writing a novel so when my girlfriend told me that there were some vacant technical roles at the MoS I leapt at the chance. Not only would I be helping others nurture their creative skills but I’d be leveraging my existing skills.”

And last, but by no way least, is Mark Simpkins. Mark has been working in the internet industry for the last 15 years at agencies and startups alike and spent almost nine years at the BBC. When not working, Mark dedicates a lot of time to charities and volunteering. He helped create two conferences, Geekyoto and Africa Gathering, and continues to be involved. Mark had been following us from the very start but decided to get involved after seeing us at The Story 2011 in February. And when we put out a call in June for someone with his expertise, he jumped at the chance “I am passionate about sharing the creation of media, making the skills and tools available to all as a way of creating a mature, pluralistic, inclusive and creative society. Being able to help, in some small way, the Ministry Of Stories deliver and nurture a passion for imaginative and creative writing is an exciting challenge for me.”

We just want to say welcome and thank you to the new team and we look forward to the journey ahead of us.
The Ministry of Stories would not be possible without the time and dedication of such wonderful volunteers. If their stories have inspired you to get involved, please email: volunteers@ministryofstories.org. We don’t just need technically minded people, we still need mentors, illustrators, shop vendors and much more so please, get in touch.

In the far off land of Vancouver, a family heard of the mysterious going-ons through a secret door in a monster shop in Hoxton. At about the same time, the family learned that a relative in the UK had decided to take a gap year from teaching. As if by fate, Holly Kal-Weiss was informed about the Ministry of Stories and this is where our story begins.

Holly is a teacher who values creativity and realised that we were a great fit for her: “My teaching style has always been a bit wacky so I fond the monster shop right up my street.”

During a gap year from teaching, Holly decided to volunteer here at the Ministry on a weekly basis and “became convinced that this was the way forward. Get them excited, give them space to be creative and make mistakes.” Being of a creative mind and professionally a teacher, Holly was an ideal mentor for us. Her quick thinking and instinctive questions have helped dozens of children reach their potential giving them the freedom to express themselves.

It’s not hard to believe that Holly’s vivid personality and exuberance could bring the shyest and least confident children out of their shells and she was happy to share one such experience with us: “Mentoring one morning, I sat with a boy who answered every question I asked him with ‘I don’t know.’ ‘A ha’, I said. ‘It’s the Unknown Monster’. I watched, literally, as the light poured out of his eyes and his face became animated. ‘Yeah….’ was all he said. And then the story flowed from his fingers.”

Not only is Holly a regular mentor but she’s also one of our monster shop vendors. After a creative session on a Tuesday morning, Holly stays to don the brown apron and serve monsters from all over London. And her creativity doesn’t just stop in the classroom. Through encouragement, imagination and enthusiasm, Holly has brought many curious humans through the monster shop threshold, informing them of what we do and selling a fair bit of stock: “my second afternoon, two American visitors popped in and they bought £100 worth of presents for their friends back home. That was a monstrously good day!”

Holly has been invaluable to us here at the Ministry. A regular volunteer who is willing to dust shelves, think of new products and fold leaflets all with a smile on her face. And we’d like to think that we’ve provided a creative learning space demonstrating what can be done when you break the mould.

Holly doesn’t only help out at the Ministry. She’s learning new skills and even volunteering in Sri Lanka to build a children’s centre and will be helping run a scheme for the homeless in Barnet.

Not everyone can give as much time as Holly but if you think you could take a shift in the shop or inspire a young person, please email volunteers@ministryofstories.org and make a difference.

As you know, the Ministry of Stories and Hoxton Street Monster Supplies are happy to lend books to monsters and junior minister alike. However, this particular book came back a little bit worse for wear.

The picture above depicts the very last copy of the Awfully Bad Guide to Monster Housekeeping that is left in existence. This was a very old and important book in the monster community and now it’s lost to the world forever. The customer (who shall remain nameless for their own safety – it was by no means Bob) left it out only to be found by their pet dragon and alas, the book is no more.

We at the ministry feel a great sense of responsibility and obligation to replace this book. So with that in mind, we have recruited 150 local school children and five very talented poets to help us rewrite the book.

When whispers of the incident had crept out, five people came forward to help us: Caroline Bird, Charlie Dark, Laura Dockrill, Ross Sutherland and Naomi Woddis. Each poet has taken it upon themselves to head up the ranks of the Ministry and guide children from: St John the Baptist Primary School, Burbage Primary School and St Monica’s RC Primary to create a new, up-to-date version of the book.

Work has already started and we’re coming out with some corkers. These examples by St John the Baptist Primary School show the high quality of work already produced: “I am the monkey maniac, moody, magic, majestic, ministry minion.”, “I am the fire liar. I am the water storm. I am furry jam. If there’s a show and the star has had an accident, I will take over and dance till I drop and till the applause comes.”

We are really looking forward to the completion of the book and believe that it will be even better than the original.

Come and tell us your favourite book and why you love it and celebrate summer reading with us. It doesn’t matter if it’s a children’s book, a guilty pleasure or a classic, we want to know what it is.

We’ve already had a wide range of books, from Nicky Hornby’s pick, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith to Stephen Fry’s choice, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy.

By donating the cost of a book you love, you’ll help us inspire future generations of book lovers. It’s easy to donate. Is your book a £2 classic, a £12.99 hardback, a £50 coffee table book or something entirely different?

With your help we can raise £3000, the cost of training our volunteer mentors for a year. They’ll support thousands of local young people to have confidence in their own reading and writing. The MoS Favourites Fund is open until 28 August, when we’ll pick the Tip Top Top Ten from the list. If your choice is in it, you’ll receive a special invitation to visit the Ministry of Stories.

Come and join our celebration. Visit http://www.justgiving.com/mos-favourites-fund/ to help now.

The Chief has been very proud of the work we have done and was very happy to receive a piece of writing from one of our volunteers telling us about his experience. Chris Cox has contributed to many sessions at the Ministry and this is what he experienced during the Newsbreakers project:

Before volunteering on the Newsbreakers project – producing a newspaper with 9-14-year-olds, in just five days – I had little experience working with young people. But having completed my Story Minister training and a couple of workshops, I had an overwhelming urge to leap into the deep end with my arms and legs outstretched.

And while that kind of behaviour will have you thrown out of your local swimming pool, at the Ministry it’s positively encouraged.

It was an amazing experience. The young writers, who came from all kinds of backgrounds, were a joy to work with – smart, funny and focussed. And having just finished working in an office where public sector cuts had sapped morale, it was incredibly refreshing working with a team of volunteers and Ministry staff who are all committed to the same goal – inspiring young writers – and were happy to be working towards it.

We broke up into three teams: news, features and reviews. As the only Minister on the news team who could commit to five days, I became its unofficial leader. This meant briefing a revolving group of mentors each morning, pairing them with young writers and explaining any special needs to bear in mind. Sometimes this group included teachers with ten years experience (i.e. a lot more than me), but the point about the Ministry is that there are no egos. Really, there aren’t. And that sometimes means you can find yourself in leadership positions you wouldn’t have expected; but it also means that you’ll be trusted, respected and supported in a way that makes everything seem possible. This really was one of the most rewarding aspects for me.

There were some golden moments during the week. A particular favourite was one of our youngest reporters interrupting an interviewee and demanding to see some evidence to back up her claims. (Now there’s a journalist, I thought.) Or when we took our news team out to find some last-minute stories, only to find ourselves interviewing some of Hoxton Street’s gruffest shopkeepers… but we still came away with the scoop.

The most inspiring thing I realised was that sharing your skills with the Ministry is not just a one-way transaction. If it was, there wouldn’t be any magic in it. So it wasn’t just me teaching young people about journalism: their curiosity and creativity taught me something too. I realised what I love most about journalism is that it depends on your curiosity and your hunger for stories; how you have to pull those golden threads out from the weave of daily life. Working with young writers getting their first taste of journalism took me back to its most simple but most thrilling elements.

Finally, seeing the newspaper in print was hugely satisfying. The Ministry is about publishing, and all the joys of that. Sadly I couldn’t be there when the team sold the paper on Hoxton Street, but having seen the video footage, it seems that joy just as vibrant whether you’re 9 or 30.

We can’t thank Chris and all our other volunteers enough. If Chris’s story has inspired you to join the troops, the Chief is always looking for new story ministers. Remember, you don’t have to be a teacher or writer or even a 16^th Century poet; you just need enthusiasm. So contact Rich volunteers@ministryofstories.org to join the ranks and be part of this story.

After trawling the Internet for volunteering opportunities, she stumbled upon  some whispers of a ‘fun, passionate, lovely and positive’ thing that she wanted to get involved with.

Kerry-Jo had heard of 826 and that something similar was happening in London. From then on, there was no going back. She wanted to be part of Ministry of Stories.

As Kerry-Jo works during the week, she couldn’t make many of the writing workshops. But on the weekends, she was happy to don the brown apron and become a Hoxton Street Monster Supplies vendor.

As you can imagine, lots of monstrous things happen in the monster shop but we’re also told some grizzly stories by our human customers that even the sceptical Kerry-Jo is drawn in to. Kerry-Jo was told a story by a customer from Missouri, which even made her think about the possibility of more than just our usual vampires, zombies and yetis. ‘There’s a house by a lake,’ Kerry-Jo explains, ‘whose owners never stay long and whose animals always disappear after a few months. There’s something in the lake and it gets worse in the summer.’

After working in the shop for six months, Kerry-Jo is still enthusiastic and believes that she gains as much from the shop as the customers do because of the customers themselves.  ‘Working in HSMS has been even better than I thought it would be.’ Kerry-Jo reflects.  ’With its chief patrons being children and curious adults, it’s like some kind of imagination concourse – all kinds of people and tales and ideas come in and out. People who have stories to tell feel this is somewhere they can let them out. It’s like people come in and release a tin of their own-brand fear…’

The store will be open as usual to humans and monsters alike on Saturday 23rd from 11.00 to 17.30. So if you’re looking to get some Olde Fashion Brain Jam or Organ Marmalade to put on your hot crossed buns, we recommend coming down pretty sharpish to ensure you don’t miss out.

We will also be closing our Favourites Fund on Saturday 23rd April and we will be announcing our Top 10 from the list. You can put your favourite in by visiting our just giving page and donating the cost of your favourite book. And why not ask a friend what their favourite book is?

We are publishing the books in house and we are calling all volunteers and other interested parties to help print, punch, bind and copy check from 1pm on Friday 1st April. We offer you music and charming conversation and the satisfaction of knowing you’re making some children’s dreams come true.

So put on your dancing shoes and drop by – the Ministry Needs You!