Such a short step between joking about joining a half marathon and officially signing up for it.. I got looks of amusement and disbelief from all my friends, but to be fair as someone who could never really run (both physically and phycologically) how could I blame them? Soon I would have to add something new to my daily exercise routine of walking down the stairs.
But if anybody was ever going to get me into sport, it was meant to be KEEN London, the amazing charity I started volunteering with more than a year ago.
As some of you may know, at KEEN we spend our weekends supporting kids with special needs. Children with disabilities miss out on sports and games too often - all activities that their peers give for granted. And that’s why KEEN is so special: it’s the only charity in London offering free, one-to-one support for kids with special needs.
This means that each of us volunteers is paired with a kid, so that each of them benefits from individual attention. It also means it’s free for their families. Why? Because it costs up to 3 times raising a disable child as it does to raise a child without disabilities. And it shouldn’t be that way.
We want to help kids with special needs build self-confidence, social skills, physical coordination. Take autism for example. There are 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK - that’s more than 1 in 100. If we include their families, it’s a daily reality for 2.8 million people. Autism is incurable. But the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference to their lives.
Simply put, KEEN wouldn’t exist without everybody’s generosity. From volunteers dedicating their time to the kids, to anybody who is able to contribute to making all the activities we offer possible. So please, do donate!
To get to know KEEN London:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEAOBAInhVcKlgggjqi8b2g
https://www.keenlondon.org
