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In Support of American Idol Finalist Lazaro Arbos, Stuttering Foundation Receives $10,000 Donation from Rita’s Italian Ice

Photo caption: Rita's Chairman Tom Christopoul (right) presents Stuttering Foundation President Jane Fraser (second from right) with a $10,000 donation on behalf of American Idol finalist Lazaro Arbos. They are joined by Lazaro's parents Gisela Andraca and Reinaldo (left) at the Rita's Italian Ice in Naples, Fla. Download photo

The True Legacy of Lazaro Arbos

For Immediate Release
Contact: Greg Wilson
gregwilsonpr@gmail.com 
571-239-7474

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (April 11, 2013) — Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, had the following reaction to the departure of Lazaro Arbos from American Idol Season 12:

“Bravo, Lazaro, Bravo!!

The True Legacy of Lazaro Arbos

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (April 11, 2013) — Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, had the following reaction to the departure of Lazaro Arbos from American Idol Season 12:

“Bravo, Lazaro, Bravo!!

Top 5 Sources of Information About Stuttering

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (April 24, 2013) — In honor of National Stuttering Awareness Week, May 6-12, 2013, the Stuttering Foundation (www.StutteringHelp.org), offers the following list of the top five sources of trusted and accurate information about stuttering:

Byron Pitts Honored at NYC Gala to Celebrate Stuttering Awareness

For Immediate Release
Contact: Greg Wilson
gregwilsonpr@gmail.com
571-239-7474

Editor: Download picture from gala.

Byron Pitts Honored at NYC Gala to Celebrate Stuttering Awareness

Media Coverage of Gala
Video from Gala

Stuttering Foundation Honors Jeff Zeleny

Jeff Zeleny, Senior Washington Correspondent for ABC News and the former National Political Correspondent for the New York Times, was honored today by the Stuttering Foundation, the world’s leading charitable organization helping those who stutter

Lyne Pitts Honored in New York

Lyne Pitts, an accomplished television producer and writer, and wife of ABC News journalist Byron Pitts, was honored today by the Stuttering Foundation, the world’s leading charitable organization helping those who stutter. The event, held in New York City, celebrated National Stuttering Awareness Week.

Media Coverage of 2013 NYC Gala

Wall Street Journal

Stuttering Foundation Offers Six Tips for American Idol Judges When Speaking with Those Who Stutter

For Immediate Release
Contact: Greg Wilson
gregwilsonpr@gmail.com
571-239-7474

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Feb. 6, 2013) — American Idol contestant Lazaro Arbos threw the judges — and the worldwide TV audience — for a loop when he stuttered during his audition on the show a few weeks ago.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, was well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones spoke some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges, released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become the chief national correspondent with ABC News.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.