Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As I think back on last night’s celebrations, I am filled with so much love and light. The San Francisco Bay Area showed up in a big way last night. The room was filled with people who stutter, speech-language pathologists, small business owners, elected officials, volunteers, friends, and family. It means the world to see so many people I love in one room - all to support the stuttering community and Proud Stutter.

It was a special night because it was Proud Stutter’s 1st Gala. When I first started planning this event, I didn’t think 10 people would show up, but boy was I wrong. Over 80 of you showed up!

When I think back to starting Proud Stutter during the pandemic in October of 2021 - with my dear friend Cynthia Chin - I remember how unsure we felt, wondering how this community would respond to our first ever episode – I am in awe.  Because not only have you responded since that first episode release, but you responded last night - all with the utmost generosity.

This year, you helped us exceed our goal of raising $10,000 for Proud Stutter’s documentary! During the event, you generously donated more than $7,000 - and this combined with the $5,000 we raised before the fundraiser means we exceeded our goal! We raised a total of $12,266 for the documentary - I am beyond grateful.

Whether you made a donation, bought a ticket, bought merch, attended the Gala or purchased a live or silent auction item, YOU helped us reach those goals and work toward our mission of helping all people live their best lives as people who stutter. For this, I thank you.

While we celebrate the fundraising success of the evening, I must also give thanks to those behind the scenes. First I want to thank Julian Benabides. He’s been helping me almost every day for the past several months, including planning, marketing, getting sponsors and donations, contributing to the comic book, and MUCH more. I also want to thank Johnnie Pina, Shae Watson, Jesse Vasquez, Andrew Roggie, Bailey Levis, Elyana Violet, Noa Chupkov - this group of volunteers helped make the night run SO smoothly. Thank you to Supervisor Dean Preston, State Senator Scott Wiener, Sarah Nelson, Nina G, Dustin Wells, and Willie Travis for speaking and performing. And thank you Tessa Andrade for creating our amazing promotional video. And of course - thank you to Studio 208 for our events shirts and Yoonede for the delicious BBQ.

I heard so many positive comments in the room about the auction items we received, the delicious food, and the comedy. And a truly beautiful evening it was. None of that would have been possible without the dedication of our stuttering community and allies.

Your support of the Gala and Proud Stutter means you believe in our mission to shift the stuttering narrative and support people who stutter so we can live free lives – in our work and in our futures.

We hope to do another one of these next year at the Peacock Lounge around the same time. Hope to see you all there again.

Maya Chupkov

Proud Stutter Founder