Beyond KEEN

Beyond Beautiful: Disability, Liberation, Love

Season 2, Episode 10 - Beyond KEEN

🎧 Listen to the Episode

🧭 Episode Summary

In this special Podcasthon episode of Beyond Beautiful, Mandi highlights KEEN New York, a nonprofit that provides free recreational programs for young people with disabilities. Having worked with the organization for eight years and now serving as Secretary of the Board of Directors, Mandi brings both personal and professional insight to the conversation.

She’s joined by members of the Rivera family, who share their experiences with KEEN and reflect on the importance of inclusive community spaces for disabled youth and their families. Together, they explore themes of belonging, advocacy, and the impact organizations can have when they center access and community.

🎙 Guest

Carmen Rivera is a parent advocate and the mother of three daughters. She’s actively involved in school leadership committees across Districts 3, 4, and 75 and enjoys cooking, walking, and shopping. She also hopes to one day learn how to sew and play the piano.

Her daughter Yahaira Rivera is a first-year college student at Hunter College pursuing a major in Film and Media Studies with a minor in Journalism. She’s an active member of the PossAbilities Club, which promotes awareness and advocacy for students with visible and non-visible disabilities. Yahaira shares her lived experience as a young autistic woman.

We’re also joined by Milagros Rivera, who is a first-year student at The High School for Math, Science and Engineering and hopes to one day become a biomedical engineer and research scientist.

💬 Key Themes

• Community and Belonging

• Inclusive Recreation and Access

• Advocacy and Leadership

🚨Partnership

Intersectional Access has a new partnership with Buoy, a company that creates hydration drops designed to support people living with chronic illnesses and conditions where maintaining hydration is especially important. Before agreeing to collaborate, I reached out to my community to hear about their experiences, and many people shared that Buoy has been helpful for managing symptoms and staying hydrated. One thing that stood out to me is their Chronic Illness Support Program, which offers people living with chronic illness 35% off their orders for life. If you use my referral link, you’ll receive 60% off your first subscription. Everyone else will receive 20% off their orders. I do earn a small commission from purchases made through the link, and that support helps sustain the podcast and the work I do to amplify disability-centered conversations. Use this Referral Link.

📜 Full Transcript

Mandi: Welcome to Beyond Disability Liberation Love. I'm Mandi, your Queer Christian Disabled host.

Mandi: I have to take a moment to share my excitement about Beyond Beautiful's partnership with Bouy Hydration Drops. Bouy makes flavorless hydration drops you can add to any drink. The this can help your body absorb water better. For a lot of people living with chronic illness, staying hydrated is really important but is also really challenging. If you would like to try Bouy, I have a discount link that I'll put in the show notes and using that link also helps support the podcast and the accessibility work behind it. Now we can get into our intro.

Mandi: This episode is a special one because it's part of Podcasthon. And yes, if you've been following along, you may have noticed that I've been calling it Podcast-a-thon this whole time. Turns out it's actually Podcasthon. Either way, the goal is the same. Podcasters around the world dedicate an episode to highlighting a nonprofit organization they care about and encourage listeners to learn more about the work the nonprofit is doing. The organization I chose to uplift this year is KEEN New York. Keen stands for Kids Enjoy Exercise now and it's a nonprofit that provides free recreational programs for young people with disabilities. Through sports, movement and community based activities, Keene creates spaces where athletes with disabilities can participate fully, build confidence, and form meaningful connections with peers and volunteers. This organization is particularly meaningful to me because it's been part of my own journey for many years. I worked at KEEN New York for eight years and during that time I had the opportunity to help grow programs, build partnerships, and see firsthand the impact that inclusive recreation can have on families. Today, I continue to support the organization as the Secretary of the Board of Directors. During my time at KEEN, I helped launch a few programs that come up in today's conversation. The first program is KEEN on Growing. This was a program we developed in partnership with a local public school and later expanded with a community garden in a very urban setting. The school created an outdoor garden space where KEEN families could come together to water plants, learn about growing food, and even taste test fresh herbs. It was a really beautiful way to connect families with nature, wellness, and each other in the middle of the city. The next program was KEEN on Model Behavior, which grew out of a partnership I started with Neon Coat, an app that connects models and creatives. Through this program, young female KEEN athletes and their caregivers are invited to a high end salon to for a day of care and celebration. Their hair is styled by professional stylists and their Makeup is done by professional models using products from top beauty brands like Glo Skin Beauty. The goal is to create a space where the athletes and the women who support them can feel celebrated, confident, and seen.

The last program we talk about is KeenFit, which I launched alongside an incredible volunteer who was a police officer at the time and is now a detective. Together, we created an adapted CrossFit program at a local gym, giving athletes the opportunity to build strength, confidence and community through movement. Instead of just hearing about Keene from me, I want you to hear directly from a family whose lives have been shaped by this community. In today's episode, I'm joined by members of the Rivera family. Carmen Rivera is a parent, advocate and the mother of three beautiful daughters. She's actively involved in school leadership committees who across districts 3, 4 and 75, and enjoys cooking, walking and shopping. She also hopes to one day learn how to sew and play the piano. Her daughter, Jahira Rivera is a first year college student at Hunter College pursuing a major in Film and Media studies with a minor in journalism. She's an active member of the Possibilities Club, which promotes awareness and advocacy for students with visible and non visible disabilities. Jahira is also an incredible young woman who shares her lived experiences as a person with a disability. We're also joined by Milagros Rivera, also known as Millie. She is a first year student at the high school for Math, Science and engineering and hopes to one day become a biomedical engineer and research scientist. You'll hear references in our conversation to their eldest sister, Luz, who unfortunately wasn't able to join us for the recording because she's away at school. But she's very much part of this family's story and their connection to KEEN. Be sure to tune in to this full episode to to hear all about their experiences and to learn how you can get involved with KEEN and support the families who benefit from its programs. Let's get into Beyond KEEN.

Mandi: Welcome to the Rivera family on the show. Very excited to have you all. So I would love if each of you could introduce yourselves and share a little bit about something that's bringing you joy.

Carmen: Okay, I will begin. My name is Carmen Rivera and what brings me joy is seeing my daughters thrive in school, in the communities, and basically their own personal goals.

Mandi: Awesome. Thank you.

Yahaira: My name is Yahaira and something that brings me joy is having a family I can totally trust.

Mandi: Thank you.

Milagros: My name is Milagros Rivera and something that brings me joy is listening to music and playing sports.

Mandi: I love that. I'm also a big music fan and recently got into women's basketball. So I love sports too. Yes. So how did your family first hear about KEEN New York?

Carmen: Wow. KEEN New York. We heard about it many, many years ago. I believe Yahaira was about 6 or 7 years old. And I remember the first activity that they started working on was on KEEN on Growing when it was here down in East Harlem.

Mandi: Yes, I remember that program. It was like our outdoor gardening program. And I think that might have been the first time I met you all also was at KEEN on Growing.

Carmen: You were absolutely right.

Mandi: Yes. And I can't believe how much you've all changed and grown since then. I remember when Yahaira was that young and Millie was just like a baby, so that's great. So what were your first impressions when you got involved with KEEN?

Carmen: My first impressions was like, wow, there's actually a program that I don't have to pay for was the first thing. And everyone was so, like, we have volunteers and they'll come up to us. So I felt like really like it was like a wow moment type of thing. Like, there's something like this exists that, you know, people come and they take their time off from what they're doing to spend with families like us.

Mandi: Yeah. Thank you for that. How about you, Yahaira and Millie? What did you first feel when you first came to KEEN?

Yahaira: I thought that I wouldn't be able to fit in to KEEN just because of my interests and things like that. But then the more activities I participated, the more I, you know, got very excited with all this stuff, including gardening, sports, swim, everything.

Mandi: Awesome. Thank you. How about you, Millie?

Milagros: My first impressions were that I felt welcomed because it was like a space where I could interact with other kids and I could spend more time with my family because, like, we were all accepted into the program.

Mandi: Yeah, I love that. Thank you so much. Can you describe what a typical KEEN activity or an event feels like for your family?

Carmen: I would say it's like, like a build up. Like, we'll put the event on the calendar. The day comes, if it's a KEEN swim event, we'll get the bathing suits ready, we'll put it inside the bag. So there's like a buildup of excitement that's coming up in order to get to the event. And once we're together, we're in the transportation, either bus or train to go to the. To the event. So it's like a buildup of emotions, like, oh, my God, today's the day. You know, we look at the calendar, you get everything ready, and we gotta go.

Mandi: I love that. I love that. The excitement even before you get there. That's awesome. Can you each share a moment at KEEN that has stayed with you or really stood out to you?

Yahaira: Sure. There's KEEN swim, KEEN sports, gardening, Family Day. They're all exciting moments we can have together with our volunteers.

Mandi: Thank you.

Milagros: A fun moment that I've had is, like, when we do KEEN Modeling every year. Like, I feel like it gives us, like, a chance to. To, like, experience, like, I don't know, putting on makeup and styling our hair. And it's, like, one time. Like, it's like a time in the year where we can, like, express ourselves fully.

Carmen: And I would have to say the same thing. KEEN on Modeling Behavior is like, a definitely a good moment that us, you know, we're all girls here, so it's like we're all there and we're being pampered. So it's a pampering moment, and it feels nice because, you know, we're all there, we're all getting pampered, and we leave feeling, like, beautiful.

Mandi: I love that. And I just want to share a memory that I have specifically with your family also. And it was actually at the KEEN on Growing program. And I just remember at the time, Yahaira, you really loved ladybugs when you were younger. And I remember we were outdoors, and it was kind of an urban space space, and you were looking for ladybugs. And I just remember thinking, oh, my goodness, there's not going to be any ladybugs here. Like, this is going to be so disappointing. And a few minutes later, I don't know how it happened, but you found a ladybug in the plants. And I just remember thinking, like, how special that was. And that's the memory that really stands out to me because you were so excited, and I was just so happy that you found a ladybug that I thought was. Would not exist in the environment that we were in. And it just reminded me of, like, a lucky, special moment with your family.

Yahaira: Yes.

Carmen: And that was our first event, too, that we went to.

Mandi: Yes. Yes, I do remember that. It was so great. So, Yahaira, what are some of your favorite things to do at KEEN?

Yahaira: KEEN swim's one of my favorites. There's also sports and my most favorite family fun day.

Mandi: What do you love about the family fun day?

Yahaira: All the activities. Soccer and parachute and arts and crafts.

Mandi: Yeah, I remember you being really good at arts and crafts also. So that's great that you still love that. What are things about KEEN that help you to feel comfortable or that make you feel very welcomed?

Yahaira: Oh, it's the volunteers. And also I can. And also they're giving me a chance to express myself and my interests.

Mandi: I love that. Do you have any special memories with any of the volunteers?

Yahaira: Well, we were using our imaginations to pretend that we were princesses and superheroes and stuff like that. And fire breathing dragons.

Mandi: I remember that. Even in the pool, I remember you guys having those games and being the dragons.

Yahaira: So that's why I love. I wanted being hilarious.

Mandi: Definitely. I love that. So this question's for the whole family. How has being part of KEEN shaped your family's routines or the way that you spend time together?

Carmen: I think there's like, a more bonding experience. It all goes up to, again, to the point when the excitement of the day of the event, you know, Saturday, we're gonna go this place, and just knowing that we're gonna go together, we're gonna travel together, you're gonna get there together, and then when we come back, we can talk about, you know, what was your favorite part of the day or the favorite part of the event. It's just the bonding. Definitely the bonding for that. I think of.

Mandi: Yeah, it's an opportunity for you all to bond together. I really appreciate that a lot. What does it mean for your family to have a space where everyone can participate in their

own way?

Yahaira: Doing new routines together, spending more time together, laughing together, everything just so they can feel connected with each other.

Mandi: How about you, Millie?

Milagros: I feel like having a space where everybody can express themselves their own way, like, allows all of us to grow as a person. Because, like, maybe, like, in a different environment, like, there's, like, certain ways that we might not be able to act. Like, in school, we need to stay quiet and do our work and everything. But when we're having a fun event, maybe for KEEN Swim in the program, that gives us a chance to finally fully express our emotions and allow us to have the most amount of fun.

Mandi: And Carmen, how have your daughters experienced KEEN differently from one another?

Carmen: I would say Yahaira is able to express herself without limits. It's almost like what Milagro said, like, in school is more like structured environment. You have to, you know, sit at your desk, you have to behave like, you know, you have to wait your turn type of thing. But KEEN is more like, it gives them chance to, like, do what they want to do. You know, the volunteers actually follow their lead and they're able to, you know, enjoy without restrictions. If not to say restrictions, but you know, to just be free and just, you know, you want to run around, you can run around, nobody's going to stop you. Unless it was. Of course, it's the safety issue. But yeah, but you know, they give you that freedom. So I would say she's able to express herself and have freedom for Milagros, I think it's given her an opportunity to be in a, like she said, a different environment that's per se and to be able to interact with other kids that maybe she wouldn't be able to interact in her school. So I think it's given her an eye opening moment type of thing. Right. That, you know, it's is a bigger world out there. Definitely.

Mandi: Yeah. I love that idea that, you know, you both participate in the program, but it has different meanings. Right. And even for you as a mom, being there and being able to see them have these experiences in a different way. And as a sibling to someone who is part of the disability community, being able to see other kids that also have disabilities and other siblings and just really being exposed to the diversity that exists in our world is definitely one of the things I really love about KEEN too. So I love that for your family. So when we think about disability justice, we often talk about community and belonging. How have you seen community and belonging show up at KEEN?

Carmen: I would say I don't really remember the name of the march that we do.

Mandi: Is it the Disability Pride Parade?

Carmen: That's exactly it. Yes, the Disability Pride Parade. I feel like it's yearly and just seeing the different organizations get together. I've seen Yahaira's school there and I'm able to connect with other organizations. Besides KEEN District 75 is going. You know, everyone's there representing and I think that's where I see community and how we all belong together, that our family is not alone. You know, that's when I see it, that and I think it should be more than a year, you know, every year I think that, you know, that feeling of, you know, we belong all together. The community event, it should be a lot more than once a year.

Mandi: Yeah, I agree. I love that and I love the parade also. And it is such a great way to see even beyond Keen, just like all of the different organizations and people. So I love that too. So this question's for the girls. What have the relationships with volunteers or the KEEN staff or even some of the other kids at KEEN meant to you?

Yahaira: The volunteers were able to. They were able to have the same interests as the two of us. And that's what makes me feel like we could be friends already. The same colors as us, the same movies, music, everything. Things like that. That's what makes me feel like I have a friend who finally understands me and my feelings.

Mandi: Thank you so much. How about you, Millie?

Milagros: I agree with Yahaira, and I would like to add on and say that specifically for KEENFit. I know I've had, like, really good experiences with some of the volunteers. Like, they'll be around, like, maybe, like, Lucy's age, like, maybe in their 20s. And they, like, they might be in college or they might have just graduated recently. And, like, we can just talk about sports and school and everything. And since their current life and, like, the position that they're in at that moment will, like, not be too far from mine yet, eventually I'm going to be in their position and so I can talk to them about maybe their college life and how that's going and everything.

Mandi: And I love that you're thinking that way, too, of being able to, like, look into your own future and kind of view them a little bit as, like, mentors and learning from their experiences. That's really wise on your part to want to kind of get all of that information, so that's great. Have there been moments where when you felt truly seen or supported as a family?

Carmen: Yeah, I feel like at the gala, you know, they both spoke, so it's like, I felt like if. Yeah, you know, we got into the point that they're in front of, you know, a whole bunch of people and they're able to express themselves on how they feel and their experience with KEEN. And I think that's the moment when I felt like, you know, we're here as a family and we're being seen. You are able to speak in front of all these people and. Yeah, that's. It felt so nice to be invited, first of all, and just to see them speak and Yahaira and Milagos make their speech and not be nervous about it while I'm, like, nervous, yes.

Mandi: We as parents are always more nervous. And the kids are like, yes, we've got this.

Carmen: Exactly. So it was, like, amazing. And that was, like, most impactful for me.

Mandi: I love that. And so, Carmen, this question's for you, too. In what ways have you seen KEEN impact your daughter's confidence, interest, or their sense of community?

Carmen: Her imagination is just flowing. It's. Her creativity is there also. It's impacted in her confidence. I've noticed she's much more verbal now. And also, like, during Pride Circle, I think it was called. Right. Pride Circle. Yahaira and Milagros are able to, you know, say what they enjoy during that specific event or, like, if it's KEEN basketball. They do it at all of them. So it's like, you know, they can express themselves. And I think that that's what I see it. You know, you can see, like, the confidence. She'll go up to the volunteer. She's not afraid. So, yeah, it's molded her into what we have today, definitely.

Mandi: That's awesome. And has being part of KEEN changed anything about how your family thinks about accessibility or advocacy?

Carmen: I think that it's given me, like, opening, like, of the eyes. Of opening my eyes on. We're not the only family experiencing what we're experiencing, that there's other families out there and that there's organizations that we can actually go to. I never in my mind, I would have imagined that there was an organization that would have, you know, our children go in and be themselves. So is giving me. Is open doors. It's open doors to the family to. As an individual for Yahaira.

Mandi: Yeah. Just the idea that, you know, maybe there are probably a lot of families who feel like they won't find a space for their child who, you know, may have different types of needs or need additional support or may not feel like they fit in. And being able to find a space like this, it seems like it really has allowed your family to connect and also to really thrive and be more yourselves, which I love.

Carmen: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Mandi: Yeah. So this question's for all of you. What would you want other families to know either about KEEN or the importance of finding spaces that are supportive like KEEN?

Carmen: I would say that they exist. I once thought that programs like this didn't exist. They do exist. I don't even remember how I found out about it, to tell you the truth. But, you know, they exist. And I think that once you do know as a parent that these programs exist, to tell someone else, you know, if you know someone else is in need of a program like KEEN, tell them. Don't keep it to yourself. You know, it's hard to find programs like KEEN that is free, that supports not only the individual, but the family as well.

Mandi: And how about you, girls? What would you want other families to know about KEEN?

Yahaira: The same thing. That they exist. That they can allow you to express yourself, your creativity, your imagination, everything around you so you wouldn't have to, you know, live in a world where you're not. Not going to express yourself for who you are or everything like that.

Mandi: Anything to add to that, Millie?

Milagros: I agree with them.

Mandi: Okay. Awesome. Awesome. All right, so my last question is, if there are organizations that want to create more inclusive programs, what do you think they should think about?

Carmen: They should think about the family as a whole, not just as an athlete, as an individual. They should think about, you know, what that individual brings, which is a family, and how can we help the family as a whole. Sort of looking at it like a big package. You know, the child has a family, has a brother, sister. Maybe they have needs also. It's not the same, but how can we support the family?

Mandi: Yeah, I love that, and I think that's absolutely right. There are a lot of organizations that might just support a child who's impacted by a disability, and then it's like no one else is involved. And it doesn't really address all of the issues or all of the supports that are needed, and it doesn't address how siblings are impacted or how caregivers or parents are impacted. So I really appreciate you saying that. We really need to think kind of more about the community. Right. Not just the person, but their whole community.

Carmen: Absolutely.

Mandi: I really appreciate all of you for taking the time, and I'm so happy that you're still a part of KEEN after all of these years, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with you all in person again soon.

Carmen: Yes, please. We miss you.

Mandi: Yes. I miss you guys, too. All right, thank you so much.

Mandi: As we wrap up this special episode of Beyond Beautiful, I want to start by thanking you for listening and for being part of this podcast moment with us, Podcasthon is all about using our platforms to uplift organizations that are making a real difference. And I'm so grateful that I had the chance to highlight KEEN New York today. If today's conversation resonated with you and you'd like to support the work KEEN is doing, there are a few ways you can get involved. If you're local to New York City, KEEN is always looking for volunteers to support their recreational programs and spend time with the incredible athletes who participate. You can visit the link in my show notes or go to keennewyork.org completely spelled out for volunteer opportunities and to sign up today, you can also support KEEN's work by making a donation. This helps ensure that all KEEN programs continue to be free for the families. I'll include the donation link in the show notes as well. Organizations like KEEN thrive because of community, people who believe that disabled youth deserve spaces where they can move, play, connect and belong. Before I let you go, I also want to remind you about something else exciting coming up. My dating Mini Script guide, designed to help people name their access needs before, during and after a date, is launching on March 21st. Right now, the podcast is just 200 downloads away from reaching 500, and if we hit that milestone this week, I'll be drawing the name of one loyal listener to receive the guide for free. I'll be sharing more details about how to get the guide in next week's episode, so stay tuned. And speaking of next week, I have some very special guests joining me who will share their perspective on what it's like to be children growing up in today's world with a queer disabled parent. It's going to be a thoughtful and honest conversation that you won't want to miss. And remember, disability, liberation, love are always beyond beautiful.

💌 Stay Connected

Volunteer at KEEN if you're local to NYC and/or donate to support free programming for KEEN athletes by checking out the Podcasthon Page for this episode and links to KEEN New York's website.

You’re invited to join the Beyond Beautiful Collective on Facebook or follow along on Instagram at Intersectional_Access. This podcast is built in community, and your voice belongs here.