Young Storytellers began in 1997 as a response to arts education being defunded in Los Angeles. Volunteer-led, they mentor and teach students in the art of storytelling and script writing, producing their tales on stage with professional actors. As the years have gone by, they’ve made their focus on underserved communities to equip students with communication skills and empathy.
“I think what's really cool about our program is that a lot of the stories that our kids write are so universal that a lot of the themes have stayed the same for the past 25 years,” shares Jaylene Benggon Chung, Young Storyteller’s communications manager. “It’s about friendship, about family, about wanting to find people that they can fit in with. … And they're all ideas that the adult mentors relate to as well, because they're like, ‘I remember writing stories like that when I was that age.’”