Why Paul Rudd Hosts a Bowling Event to Benefit Children Who Stutter: 'So Blown Away by These Kids' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Paul Rudd attends Paul Rudd’s 11th Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit at Bowlero Chelsea Piers on October 21, 2024 in New York City.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Paul Ruddis having fun using his platform for an important cause.

On Monday, Oct. 21, theAnt-Manactor hosted his 11th annual All-Star Bowling Benefit in New York City to benefit theStuttering Association for the Young, and he explained to PEOPLE how he first got involved with the organization.

“I was in a play and the character that I played had a stutter, but I didn’t really know much about it and I wanted to do a decent job, so I thought I should talk to somebody who stutters,” Rudd says of his 2006 role in Broadway’sThree Days of Rain.

After doing a quick search online, Rudd discoveredTaro Alexanderand decided to reach out to the New York City–basedSAYfounder.

Paul Rudd (C) poses with guests at Paul Rudd’s 11th Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit at Bowlero Chelsea Piers on October 21, 2024 in New York City.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Rudd’s first bowling benefit took place in 2012, and the event has grown each year. Celebrities like Richard Kind and Christopher Meloni even joined the fun on Oct. 21.

How did Rudd land on a bowling competition as a way to raise money for SAY? “You can have poker tournaments, but no kids can go to that!” he says with a laugh. “One of the really fun things about this event is that a lot of the kids in SAY come and they bowl, and they have a blast.”

Paul Rudd (C) bowls with guests at Paul Rudd’s 11th Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit at Bowlero Chelsea Piers on October 21, 2024 in New York City.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

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While the actor admits his longtime involvement with SAY “makes me feel like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m an old guy!’ " he’s also moved to have had the privilege of watching so many of the kids in the program grow up.

Paul Rudd (R) bowls with guests at Paul Rudd’s 11th Annual All-Star Bowling Benefit at Bowlero Chelsea Piers on October 21, 2024 in New York City.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Rudd adds, “If it wasn’t for me playing a part in a play, I wouldn’t really have given it much thought. But the more you think about it, the more obvious it is. Growing up is hard. You feel alone as a kid anyway. And you could maybe go to a school where you are the only one who has to stutter, and you don’t want to talk. People tease you.”

“It’s an amazing thing what Taro’s created, that he’s built a community for kids to feel comfortable and be amongst other kids who are going through the same thing.”

Proceeds from the event benefit SAY in its mission to provide vital programs such as Camp SAY, speech therapy, and Confident Voices, a creative arts program that empowers young people who stutter.

source: people.com