Beth Wenger, deputy director of Kids Explore Exercise Now (KEEN) Greater D.C., has worked at the organization since 2008. Volunteering with KEEN, a national nonprofit that works to bring sports and physical activity to children with disabilities, changed Wenger’s career path, causing her to transition from the publishing industry to becoming KEEN’s program manager.
She felt challenged at first by her work with a six-year-old nonverbal athlete, but the time she spent with him hooked her.
“The people involved were so nice, and the work was so great,” she said. “It just piqued my curiosity. And so I went back again and again and again.”
Every weekend at sites across the District, KEEN and its network of volunteers serve over 500 athletes with free one-on-one programming. These unstructured, flexible programs, ranging from basketball to swimming, are designed to suit individual needs and growth. Now in their 33rd year of operation, this noncompetitive companionship system drives KEEN’s core principle: “accept every child, regardless of the nature or severity of their disability.”
Wenger credits the organization for teaching her tolerance, acceptance, diplomacy, and balance.
“I loved kids, and I loved sports—the fact that they had disabilities didn’t really register for me then,” Wenger said.
In the spring of 2024, KEEN established a partnership with the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Kinesiology Department to offer two service-learning classes: an upper-level kinesiology elective and a one-credit general elective course open to other majors. In both, students volunteer at KEEN sessions every Sunday as a “lab” component of the course. Dakota Goldfarb, KEEN’s UMD site program manager, has a unique vantage point on the benefits KEEN provides college volunteers.
“A lot of [volunteers] have KEEN impact their career field,” Goldfarb said. “I have one student who plans to go into occupational therapy. She has a sibling with autism, she loves working with the kids. It solidified her want to go into KEEN or something similar.”
Emma Powell, the graduate coordinator and lecturer of the two classes, prioritizes getting her kinesiology students out into the community to center it in their work.
“For me, anyone in public health, it’s so important to do community work. That has been a big priority for me in my work,” she explained. She highlighted that the UMD site makes KEEN more accessible to families in Prince George’s County who might otherwise have to travel to the D.C. locations.
Isabella Vidal, a UMD senior in the one-credit service-learning course, majors in kinesiology and plans to work in occupational therapy post-graduation. Like Powell, she sees the practical importance of community volunteering to bolster real-world public health work.
“Learning more helps you to be a better practitioner,” Vidal said. “If I didn’t have any experience at all, I would feel I would be a disservice to my patients or kids I work with.”
In her one-on-one sessions with different athletes, Vidal has already witnessed many developmental milestones that therapists look for, such as grasping and throwing.
Maggie Chen, a junior in the kinesiology program, took the three-credit elective in the fall after hearing about it from a friend. She is currently enrolled in the one-credit course and plans to continue volunteering independently with KEEN in the fall.
“I’ve worked with KEEN for a while, I’m very attached,” said Chen. “One of the parents said that no other place accommodates his child as well as KEEN.”
Her time in the program has strengthened her interest in pediatric physical therapy, and she’s hopeful to see more places that welcome kids with disabilities. By placing the athletes’ needs front and center, KEEN surrounds them with the support and space to grow.
Unfortunately, KEEN faces limitations tied to its nonprofit structure in promoting physical activity and companionship for kids with disabilities. Wenger said, “We always have this long waiting list for kids who want to get into the program,” and that “the need for [KEEN’s] programs is great.”
“80% of our athletes are somewhere on the autism spectrum, and most of them are on the more severe side, because that’s who we’re designed for,” Wenger said. “The results of our activities and our efforts takes longer to see. Sometimes we can only gauge it on the fact they come back session after session after session.”
But those results hinge on the volunteers returning time after time. KEEN does not require volunteers to make a specific time commitment to the organization. Instead, it asks them to come when they can. New volunteer training is offered before each athlete session, creating a flexible, low-barrier-to-entry experience.
“The longer you work with kids with disabilities, or spend time with kids with disabilities, the more open and accepting you become,” said Wenger. “What you can see over time is growth. You can’t necessarily see that if you come and volunteer with us once or twice.”
That growth is a two-way street. Only through dedicated volunteers can KEEN continue to support others.
“KEEN is run by volunteers,” she said. “We’re a community organization. We are as big as we are because of the community. We can serve more kids, we can do more good, with more help from the community. More volunteers, more corporate donors and sponsors, and people in general who are willing to lend a hand in some way.”
As the program continues its third decade, Goldfarb says that these volunteers and donors aren’t just giving to the program—they’re being rewarded by it as well.
“You make an impact on your athletes’ lives for sure,” Goldfarb said. “And you can’t leave without the athletes leaving an impact on yours.”
