Young people keen to offer hand

KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) is a charity run by student volunteers from Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities. It was set up in 1988 by a small group of students who offered tennis coaching to children with special needs.

KEEN has come a long way since, and is now one of the largest student volunteering organisations in Oxford, offering a variety of recreational and sporting activities to children and young adults with a huge range of special needs.

Apart from one full-time co-ordinator, KEEN is run entirely by volunteers. Current co-ordinator Kate Sankey, said: “KEEN’s success relies entirely on our body of volunteers who support athletes at all of our sessions. Part of the key to this success is that volunteers can come along to sessions as little or as often as they like: there is no minimum commitment involved.”

KEEN runs four regular sessions during each week of the Oxford University term:

• GrEAT is an over-18s social club where members go to the cinema or the pub – or stay in and enjoy themed evenings ranging from karaoke to games or film nights.

• Zig-Zag is an arts, crafts and drama workshop for under 18s. Sessions focus on a different theme each term. The emphasis at Zig-Zag is on creativity and integration and the fun seems to arrive in abundance.

• KEEN Teens is the newest KEEN session and is a social club for 11 to 17-year-olds, with structured activities ranging from science experiments to talent shows. Having fun and meeting new friends is paramount here.

• AllSorts is the biggest session of the KEEN week. At these sessions, athletes get a chance to play a variety of sports from: hockey, basketball, tag rugby, football, cricket, rounders, dancing, gymnastics and parachute games.

Volunteer session leader Ally Paget, said: “KEEN is the best way I know to achieve something really great in a couple of hours of your day. Just supporting a young person in a simple game of hockey can make their week, and it often makes mine too!”

In addition to these regular activities, KEEN offers a number of special events including ice-skating trips, a Christmas party, an annual daytrip, the end of year celebration, the KEEN Olympics and holiday activities.

If you are interested in joining KEEN, or if you would like to find out more about how to register as a volunteer, email keen@keenoxford.org, or call 01865 794198 for co-ordinator, Kate Sankey for more information about volunteering with KEEN.

Website: www.keenoxford.org

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