Imagine a World where ALL youth have equal opportunities for recreation, fitness, and friendship—regardless of their abilities.
KEEN’s Mission - Empower youth with disabilities by providing free, non-competitive one-to-one programs of exercise, fitness and fun, led by volunteer coaches.
KEEN’s Vision - Foster confidence, self-esteem and community inclusion for youth with disabilities; strengthen communities through education of volunteers; and provide families with respite and a supportive network.
KEEN is a volunteer-led, nonprofit — 501(c)(3) — organization headquartered in the Washington, DC area. KEEN USA’s Board of Directors oversees affiliate operations and charts national initiatives. Each affiliate also has a Board of Directors, comprised of parents, volunteers and members of the community who direct all local activities in accordance with KEEN‘s mission of providing free programs for kids with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of that disability.
KEEN is modeled on an innovative program established in Oxford, England by Elliott Portnoy, who brought KEEN to the Washington, DC area in 1992. With his wife, Estee Portnoy, and help from a handful of parents and volunteers, KEEN started as a single program. 25 years later, because of its unique approach of individualized, one-to-one, noncompetitive programming, KEEN has expanded into seven markets across the nation, serving over fifteen hundred young people with disabilities each year and touching the lives of tens of thousands of volunteers.
KEEN operates programs in the following 7 cities:
