Tom Kitt, Julia Murney, Krysta Rodriguez and More to Join SAY’s 24th Annual Benefit Gala
Performances will honor leaders and artists including Lackland H. Bloom III, Joel Korte, and Drew Lynch.
The Stuttering Association for the Young will host its 24th Annual Benefit Gala on Monday, April 20, 2026, at Current at Chelsea Piers in New York City. This inspiring evening will bring together Broadway stars, stuttering community leaders and advocates, and supporters of the SAY community to celebrate the courage, creativity, and talent of young people who stutter.
At this year’s gala, SAY is honoring dedicated individuals whose leadership and advocacy are creating lasting impact for kids and teens who stutter: SAY Board Member Lackland H. Bloom, III, Founder of Chase Bliss, Joel Korte, stand-up comedian Drew Lynch, SAY parent and Board Member Claudia Negron, and SAY parent Mark Negron. “SAY was one of the first places where I saw stuttering fully normalized. Being surrounded by so many kids who stutter, all showing up as themselves, was both powerful and joyful, and it changed how I understood my own voice,” states Joel Korte, also a person who stutters and someone who has been involved with the SAY community for more than a decade.
The evening will feature special performances by Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Tom Kitt, singer-songwriter and person who stutters Alec Chambers, Broadway stars Julia Murney and Krysta Rodriguez, and singer-songwriter Kori Withers, daughter of legendary musician Bill Withers, along with original songs performed by the incredible young people of SAY.
Proceeds from this year’s event will help SAY continue to provide vital programming for kids and teens who stutter, including Camp SAY, a two-week summer camp, individualized speech therapy, and the award-winning creative arts program Confident Voices, recipient of the prestigious National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. Today, more than 80 million people stutter worldwide, including 5% of children. “Over the years, I have had the great privilege of meeting so many incredible SAY kids, witnessing firsthand the lives that have been impacted and changed by this extraordinary organization,” says Tom Kitt, composer of the Broadway hit Next to Normal.
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