GlobalGiving.org: Help Alison Bartosik get more KEEN kids swimming!

Triathletes Tri On KEEN - For A Perfect Fit!

Ayesha Williamson — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:32:01 GMT

Proud of our Athletes & Coaches too!

Dear KEEN San Francisco Friends,

I often write you, on behalf of our athletes who cannot always express for themselves, how much your support truly makes a difference in their lives and eyes. Today, I'd like to share how KEEN made an impact on a couple of Coaches. - Ayesha Williamson, Executive Director

Incredible Experience- Volunteer Swim With KEEN, 5/22/11

by Golden Gate Triathlon Club on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 2:03pm

As a triathlete, pool swims conjure up thoughts of drills, sets, and getting extra laps in to be ready for a race. This morning's swim was a completely different experience. Membership director, Denise Ford, and I volunteered with our TAG beneficiary, KEEN, Kids Enjoy Exercise Now, for their monthly KEENquatics program. We arrived at the North Beach pool for our KEEN volunteer coach orientation at 10:30 this morning. Shortly thereafter, kids and parents started piling onto the pool deck.

The three lane, warm lap pool was suddenly transformed into the giant playground that is known as KEENquatics. Kids were immediately in the water, splashing around, playing basketball, floating on noodles, or hesitantly dipping their toes in anxiously looking back at their parents before entering the water.

I spent my time "coaching" a little guy named Andrew. Andrew is nonverbal, which means he doesn't speak, and only says occasional words. He also had never left the steps of the pool before, and tried to run from the water every time his mom and I tried to coax him in. Eventually, holding both of my hands, Andrew took one step in, then two, then three, and before we knew it, he was waist-deep in the water. His mom's eyes lit up, and she walked over to the bench to observe her son move around freely in the water for the first time! I spent one entire hour holding Andrew's hands, guiding him through the pool, jumping, gliding, and splashing! It was such an incredible feeling to be a part of this little guy's milestone.

Denise spent her time "coaching" a little girl named Joyce. Joyce obviously loved the water and came right in as soon as she arrived! However, she had never put her head underwater until today. Denise got her blowing bubbles and by the end of the session, she was diving for rings! Joyce looked like she was having the time of her life (and so did Denise)!

We had a morning in the pool like no other. I'm looking forward to the next time I get to swim, splash, and play with the great kiddos of KEEN. KEEN needs many more volunteers for their KEENquatics program. It's once a month, and requires only a bathing suit and willingness to play and splash around with a group of great kids for an hour! I hope others get to have the same incredible experience that Denise and I had today. It was a pool swim that I won't soon forget!

Chris
GGTC Secretary

Experience it for yourself! You can join us in the pool and see how your support not only impacts the athletes but how good it will make you feel too! Please consider giving a gift to KEEN to Keep these Kiddos Swimming!

Surf report: thanks to You, KEEN swimmers are making waves!

Ayesha Williamson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:36:14 GMT

Dear friends,

A year ago we asked you to join Alison Bartosik to help get more KEEN kids swimming. In the last 12 months, you've helped us increase capacity to serve more swimmers, train more volunteer coaches and offer more parents the opportunity to take a little break and sit back and enjoy the smile on their child's face while they splash around in the pool under the watchful eye of our coaches and the fabulous Lifeguard, Michelle.

KEEN SF needs your help more than ever!

With increasing diagnosis of children with special needs and unique abilities, we accept all children of any disability most with; Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disability/Mental Retardation, Angelman Syndrome and any child who needs us.

First 5 of California tells us; there are more than 10 percent of children ages 0 to 5 in California with a disability or special need that may impact their ability to play and learn. And, that number increases with age and time of diagnosis. On average, 1 in 110 children will be diagnosed with Autism, 1 in 800 children are diagnosed with Down Syndrome and 1 in 1,000 children will be diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. In 2009 3,900 new cases do Autism were diagnosed of children under the age of 3.

Kids need KEEN. They need our programs to help them connect to their peers and embrace healthy recreation and play.

And we need you! Global Giving is offering a Bonus Day: March 16!

On March 16, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 30% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor per project! There is $75,000 available in matching funds on March 16. Once these matching funds are used, we will no longer be matching. We encourage you to let your donors know about this opportunity through your own donor communications and by submitting a project report. Remember: project reports are sent to donors the day after they are approved, so they must be submitted by March 14th to guarantee they will get to your donors in time for the matching day.

In addition to the 30% match, GlobalGiving is offering a $1,000 bonus to the project that raises the most funds that day and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the most individual donors!

Terms and Conditions:•    Matching is applied up to $1,000 per donor per project on March 16, 2011 between 12:01am and 11:59 pm EST (GMT-4) until matching funds run out;
•    There is $75,000 available matching funds;
•    Projects must be approved and live on the GlobalGiving.org website by March 15th;
•    Only online donations (credit card or paypal) are eligible for matching. Donations made by check are not eligible;
•    Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk or any GlobalGiving corporate sites (including Nike, Global Action Atlas, etc) are NOT eligible for matching

Make the most of your donation and give early on March 16th to help little swimmers.

Warmest regards,

Ayesha Williamson, Executive Director

Links:

See what's new - visit our web site!

Thank You Global Giving Donors!

Ayesha Williamson — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 03:06:32 GMT

This has truly been a wonderful year for KEEN San Francisco. We've made so many new friends, like you, who have generously supported our programs for children with disabilities. With so many children needing our Sports, Basketball and Swim programs we need your continued support more than ever. We hope you will share information about our organization with your friends, family and co-workers. You never know when there may be someone special in your circle who could benefit from our programs and just maybe you'll add us to that ever growing New Year's resolution list to 'Make a difference in a KEEN child's life'.

It's hard to express our gratitude in a letter, so we made you a video, we wanted you to see first hand the impact of your gift on our KEENquatics program. Thank you for your continued support, we look forward to seeing you in 2011!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usCNT6Ttoo4

Warmest regards,

Ayesha Williamson, Executive Director

Links:

Friends & Family; Fall into the pool with KEEN SF!

Ayesha Williamson — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:20:34 GMT

Coaches, Kathryn & Charlie with Athlete, Christine

Summer is nearing an end and our Athletes are headed back to school. September marks the beginning of fall sessions with returning and new athletes back into the pool. Thanks to the generous support of KEEN Friends, Family & Coaches, we have raised over $3,800 for our KEENquatics program - but we still need your help! We have four more months of splashing, diving and paddling to provide our Athletes before the end of the year.

We have a special request; We greatly appreciate your continued support and we ask that your share our message with 5 of your friends & family members. If each of those people gave just $8, your Friends & Family will provide a swim session for an Athlete like Christine. If they each gave $32, you will provide swimming to Christine for the rest of the year!

We all remember what is was like as a kid to jump into the water and splash around - with your continued support we can offer Christine and other KEEN Athletes those same memories.

All the best, Ayesha Williamson Executive Director

KEEN San Francisco Needs Your Help 100% of your donations made to this project will support the KEENquatics program for KEEN SF swim athletes and keep our programs free of charge to Athlete families & their caregivers

About Alison Bartosik, our friend and volunteer KEENquatics Coach:

As a retired synchronized swimmer, Alison has felt privileged to support KEEN San Francisco's KEENquatics program. Water was always been her safe haven and happy place. She has been sharing valuable swimming basics while providing a recreational outlet to many KEEN athletes that would not normally have this opportunity. "Water safety is crucial for everyone and seeing all the participants and volunteers smile and have a great day is a priceless experience". Alison has been with the KEENquatics program since June 2009 and asks for your support to raise more funds for more swimmers of a worthwhile cause.

KEEN San Francisco's mission:

KEEN is a national, nonprofit volunteer-led organization that provides one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and young adults with developmental disabilities at no cost to their families and caregivers. KEEN's mission is to foster the self-esteem, confidence, skills and talents of its athletes through non-competitive activities, allowing young people facing even the most significant challenges to meet their individual goals.

Please visit us at keensanfrancisco.org for more information about us and our programs or contact Ayesha Williamson, Executive Director at awilliamson@keensanfrancisco.org or directly at (415)710-4412.

Links:

Dive In and Help KEEN San Francisco on June 16th!

Ayesha Williamson — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:38:39 GMT

ONE DAY ONLY, JUNE 16th 2010: Have your donation matched and help KEEN San Francisco Athletes swimming. Olympic Swimmer and KEEN volunteer, Alison Bartosik, partners with KEEN San Francisco again to compete in the Global Giving match competition! For One Day Only, on June 16th, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 50% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor for our project! We encourage you to let your friends and family know about this opportunity in time for the matching day. In addition to the 50% match, GlobalGiving is offering a $1,000 bonus to the project that raises the most funds that day and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the most individual donors! Terms and Conditions: -Matching is applied up to $1,000 per donor per project on June 16, 2010 between 12 AM and 11:59 PM (EST) until matching funds run out. -There is $70,000 in matching funds for the projects participating in this promotion. -Only online donations (credit card or PayPal) are eligible for matching. Donations made by check are not eligible. -Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk are NOT eligible for matching. KEEN San Francisco Needs Your Help 100% of your donations made to this project will support the KEENquatics program for KEEN SF swim athletes. About Alison: As a retired synchronized swimmer, Alison has felt privileged to support KEEN San Francisco's KEENquatics program. Water was always been her safe haven and happy place. She has been sharing valuable swimming basics while providing a recreational outlet to many KEEN athletes that would not normally have this opportunity. "Water safety is crucial for everyone and seeing all the participants and volunteers smile and have a great day is a priceless experience". Alison has been with the KEENquatics program since June 2009 and asks for your support to raise more funds for more swimmers of a worthwhile cause.

KEEN San Francisco's mission: KEEN is a national, nonprofit volunteer-led organization that provides one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and young adults with developmental disabilities at no cost to their families and caregivers. KEEN's mission is to foster the self-esteem, confidence, skills and talents of its athletes through non-competitive activities, allowing young people facing even the most significant challenges to meet their individual goals. Please visit us at keensanfrancisco.org for more information about us and our programs or contact Ayesha Williamson, Executive Director at awilliamson@keensanfrancisco.org or directly at (415)710-4412.

More KEEN kids are swimming because of you!

Ayesha Williamson — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:26:40 GMT

Lap Swim for a KEEN Athlete

Your donations helped KEEN San Francisco Athletes work on their back strokes, paddling, splashing and overall fun!

KEENquatics brings the KEEN formula to the swimming pool. A large variety of inflatable equipment makes even the most cautious athlete eager to get in the water and splash about. Swimmers who are able are encouraged to swim a lap or two, as you can see in the attached photo of our KEEN Athlete, Wesley. He is a young adult, who enjoys the friendly splashing around with fellow Athletes and Coaches, and really thrives on the ability to move over to the lap lanes and spread his wings with a powerful crawl stroke he developed thru KEENquatics sessions, thanks to you!

KEEN Friends, like you, donated over $2,060 which provided 206 athletes with a swim session. All of KEEN San Francisco's programs are free of charge to Athletes families and caregivers. With your support we can offer more sessions to more athletes waiting on our list.

Global Giving is offering us a matching day coming up on June 16th, every $10 you give means another athlete can experience what Wesley has, please support KEEN San Francisco today. And remember when you give on June 16th your donation will be matched!

Swimmers

KEEN Swim Athletes & Coaches

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