Join the Learning Ally Volunteer Nation

Who we are looking for:
We're casting voices for African-American, Latinx, and other culturally-diverse stories that need authentic voices. We're looking for diverse voice-over artists and experienced narrators, and youthful voices are always welcomed.

What makes a great narrator:
Literature narrators must imbue their reading with personality, energy & convey the ”mood” of the book they record. All narrators must be highly skilled readers & ideally have some level of “performance” ability to bring a sense of entertainment, character & realism to their recordings.

Volunteer Expectations:
Training, voice sample, and equipment check are required.
See our Recommended Equipment list.

This role is ideal for anyone looking for ongoing, long-term volunteering. If you’re looking for a short-term volunteer opportunity, we recommend the Quality Assurance role.

Preview some projects we record!
Take a peek at the literature narration projects we have available by visiting our Literature Portal! Note that you'll need training before being assigned to any of these projects, and common voice types may have limited project availability.

skilled or authentic voices apply here

Who we are looking for:
We're looking for volunteers who are skilled with non-fiction narration, subject matter experts, or fluent in both Spanish and English to narrate textbooks.

What makes a great narrator? Textbook narrators provide an engaging and transparent performance, making reading feel like the easiest thing on earth. Narrators prepare the material they are recording by researching pronunciations and figure conventions before recording.

Volunteer Expectations:
Training, an audition and equipment check are required. See our recommended equipment list.

This role is ideal for anyone looking for ongoing, long-term volunteering. If you’re looking for a short-term volunteer opportunity, we recommend the Quality Assurance role.

Although we're not currently recruiting for this role, fill out the form below and we will contact you when we are in need of help.

Volunteer Interest Form

What you'll do:
QA is the final step in the process of creating an audiobook. In a nutshell, it means playing our books back just like our students will, and checking for anything that interferes with an enjoyable reading experience.

We look for:

• Navigation: Can the reader move through the book easily and get where they need to go?
• Synchronization: Our finished VOICEtext books feature audio that is synchronized to match up with highlighted text on the screen, with the highlighting "following" the voice as the book progresses. So it's important we check to make sure everything stays "in sync."
• Typographical errors: Obviously, this one can be a real distraction!
• Performance: Is the narrator creating an engaging listening experience for our students?

Watch this video for a happy reminder of why we review!

QA volunteers apply here

Listeners help deliver high-quality audiobooks and a positive student experience.

What you'll do:
Listeners provide quality feedback to Narrators on the production of audio content. This includes highlighting issues with fluency and tone, mispronunciations, audio issues, textbook conventions and other reading mistakes. Do you love audiobooks? You could be a good "Listener" for this community!

Although we're not currently recruiting for this role, fill out the Volunteer Interest form below and we will contact you when we are in need of help.

Volunteer Interest form

We welcome volunteer support on a wide variety of projects throughout the year. Some examples include:

• Audio/Video editing
• Audiobook Production support
• Audiobook Quality Assurance
• Digital content development
• Web design and user experience
• Conference/event management
• Educator outreach and engagement
• Social media and marketing support
• Mission advocacy and awareness
• Data entry and research

If these opportunities sound interesting to you, apply below and we will share ways to get involved. 

Volunteer Interest form

Get your workplace involved!

With Learning Ally’s virtual volunteer events, your employees will have the opportunity to learn more about literacy in the U.S. and engage in a transformational struggling reader simulation followed by a meaningful volunteer activity. Our events help connect teams across the world, build a deep connection to the communities we serve,  and grow awareness around the importance of literacy. 

Reach out to Paula Restrepo for more information: pRestrepo@LearningAlly.org