April 5, 2008 - Former US Rower, Kate MacKenzie gets involved with Bideawee and KEEN NY

In March, Kate visted the Bideawee program in New York. She met with the staff and got to see part of the Pet Therapy program which reaches over 6,000 children and adults in 120 health care and special education facilities. Kate will continue to be involved with Bideawee in caring for the animals as well as helping to develop a program that encourages dog owners and pet lovers to get out and exercise with their animals.

On April 5th, Kate attended the first of what will be many KEEN weekend sports sessions. Kate arrived early for a brief volunteer orientation, then was paired up with a special little boy for one-on-one play. After an hour of enthusiastic running around, the two of them joined the group for the 3:00 "Proud Session," where all the kids gathered together and told about one thing they did that day that made them proud. Kate had great time and is looking forward to the next session

About Bideawee
Bideawee is a 501(c)(3) organization in New York, NY with additional faciliites in Long Island. Bideawee's mission is to promote safe, loving, long-term relationships between people and companion animals by providing a continuum of services and programs that are innovative, personalized, and high-quality.

About KEEN NY
KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) is a national, 501(c)(3)nonprofit volunteer-led organization that provides one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and young adults with mental and physical 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. KEEN New York launched on Januray 26, 2008.