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Hear what we've been up to from Cat, Keaton's mom and Keaton's Kids Founder.
On April 17th Kevin and Cat drove down to the Bronx to be a part of the pilot Biking in the Bronx program. It was a great day for a ride, with a little chill in the air but blue skies. What made it amazing, though, was to see 10 kids on bikes bought by Keaton’s Kids!
Some highlights as we joined them on their maiden ride:
When we first got there, we met a young man named Andrew who was learning to ride a two wheeler for the first time. Kevin spent some time helping him. It wasn't easy! It made us realize how we take for granted so many things. Most of us learned to ride when we were very young, on safe streets or yards in the suburbs. But if you’re on a crowded city street, and maybe a small apartment where there’s no room to store a bike, it’s a different matter.
When we circled around to get to know each other before we started, Craig Meisner, co-founder and Director of CatRock asked us to introduce ourselves. We felt overwhelmed with emotion as we explained how we started as an idea, we became a reality, and now Keaton’s Kids was already sponsoring its first project.
As we rode up the final hill after our 7 mile ride through beautiful Van Cortlandt Park, a teen named Emanuel said to Cat, “ I never dreamed I would be able to do this”, and when he pushed through his struggle to reach the top of the hill he said to Kevin “I’m really proud of myself.” We were, too. Emanuel, Andrew, and all the other riders reminded us exactly why we are doing this.
Check out some memories from our rides with CatRock below (click right to see the next photo):
Photos courtesy of CatRock Ventures.
Some more good news— Trek Bicycles joined the project (because who doesn’t want to join a good thing when they see it?) and donated helmets, bike repair equipment and other gear to the tune of about $5000. This freed up the $5000 Keaton’s Kids had already contributed to the cause, which CatRock will now use to start a SKATEBOARDING program this summer, in Keaton’s name. Now how cool is that?
As we move forward, CatRock has a planned two night camping trip for the biking project in June, supported by Keaton’s Kids. We are also talking to a very cool organization right now about sponsoring one very cool trip in the winter for their snowboarders. We will fill you in on all the details as we get them!
So, just like the bikes in the Bronx, our wheels are turning at Keaton’s Kids and the ideas keep coming. We’d love to hear your thoughts, too.
And, as always, we need your support to keep going, and thank you mightily for the support you’ve shown us so far.
P.S. On a sad note, Keaton’s dad Joel Goss passed away quietly in his sleep March 23rd due to heart failure. We will all miss his creativity, his unique style, his flair for life, and the unconditional love he shared with so many. RIP Joel.