We've been on amazing journey since our first sessions in 1985. We won't stop until society is fully inclusive!
The early days of KEEN
KEEN's begun in Oxford in 1984. In the autumn of that year, a Rhodes scholar called John Simon - who had volunteered with the Special Olympics in the States - noticed a lack of opportunities for people with special needs to take part in sports in Oxford.
John - with the help of Krzysia Gossage, a parent of two daughters with special needs - created the Oxford Sports Group. At the very first session, there were around 10 children with disabilities, ranging in age from 6-14 years old, playing tennis and other games.
A high ratio of coaches to young people meant the session was accessible and fun for everyone. Everyone was having such a good time, that quickly they had twice as many coaches as participants!
Before ending his course and leaving for the States, John left the Oxford Sports Group in the hands of a good friend Sean Mahoney, who then handed over leadership to Elliot Portnoy for its third year. In 1988 - under Elliot's leadership - the Oxford Sports Group became KEEN, with our official birthday on the 29th April 1988.
KEEN quickly expanded in scope and vision, and 30 years later, it has developed from the original tennis coaching programme into an international non-profit movement that serves hundreds of young people with disabilities each week in cities around the UK and US, training over 30,000 volunteer as a result.
The 1990's
There was also an informal social group, KEEN club, in the mid-90s, and a music and movement session for very young children ran at the Down’s Syndrome Resource Centre by the Park Hospital from 1998 to 2004.
In the early days, a number of other KEEN-affiliated activities took place without the direct involvement of the coordinator, including swimming, horse-riding and a rowing session, which developed into Oxford Adaptive Rowing in 1998.
The 2000's
GrEAT, our over-18s social club, officially launched in 2002, and KEEN Teens began in 2009. KEEN's flagship sports session was branded AllSorts in 2003. Our creative session, Zig-Zag, was established soon after, inspired by a visit by volunteers to The Chicken Shed in London.
The 2010's
Long before the 2010's, KEEN had secured its place in the community, providing one of the most established bridges between the town, the two universities, and local schools. In the last decade, KEEN has expanded once more, in 2015 adding a year round sports session GrEAT Sports aimed at adults and bring the total number of regular weekly sessions to 6.
In the same time, KEEN Plus has developed into a unique programme of special 'one off' or yearly opportunities. We have now enjoyed some old favourites for years, for example our much loved trips to the ice rink and to the Funomusica concerts put on by the Oxford Philharmonic, and the Pantomime at the Oxford Playhouse each December.
Recent developments
Since the winter of 2017, KEEN has undergone significant expansion and transformation of its work, with the addition of three new regular sessions, and two entirely new strands of work concerned with supporting inclusion in other organisations and promoting inclusion more widely. You can find out more about the difference we have made over the past year and our future plans in the publications below!