Young Storytellers, the nonprofit that supports writing development programs in Los Angeles public schools, has established the Jamie Tarses Fund to pay tribute to the late ABC and NBC executive and help support the organization’s work.
Young Storytellers recruits volunteers from the entertainment industry and others with writing experience to work with students in elementary, middle school and high school. The program pairs mentors and students to develop short stories that will be performed on stage by actors at the culmination of each school’s program. In 2025, Young Storytellers facilitated the work of 786 volunteers who mentored more than 440 students weekly at 39 public schools and after-school sites across Los Angeles.
Young Storytellers hosts an annual fundraiser dubbed “The Biggest Show” that features performances of selected stories generated through its various school programs. The Jamie Tarses Fund will be formally unveiled tonight as part of this year’s Biggest Show program held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.
“Jamie understood that the most powerful thing you can tell a young person is that their ideas deserve to be taken seriously,” said Jaylene Benggon Chung, managing director of Young Storytellers. “She built that belief into this organization, and it is still at the center of everything we do. Because of this fund, the kids who come through our doors will keep feeling her generosity, whether or not they ever learn her name.”
