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KEENAN'S
KIDS FOUNDATION
Lawyer
seeks to defend cold kids with winter gear
By Mark Valenta
STAFF WRITER
Atlanta attorney Don Keenan, owner of the Keenan Law Firm, is known
as "the kids lawyer."
Through his Keenan's Kids Foundation, the 42- year-old child advocate
hopes to make this winter a little less chilly for Atlanta's homeless
children, estimated at 20,000 by Atlanta's Task Force for the Homeless.
In a partnership with East Point's Family Life Ministries, a coalition
of 39 churches of all faiths that take care of the poor, Keenan's
Kids Foundation since November has collected more than 4,000 clothing
items, including gloves, leggings, shirts, hats and coats.
"More children currently live in poverty in the metro area than at
any other time in our history," said Keenan. "These kids who have
no voice deserve our help. I personally challenge other professionals
in Atlanta to chip in and help keep our kids warm this winter. One
sweatshirt can make a world of difference to a child that has nothing
but a T-slrirt. Coats and sweaters are worth their weight in gold."
The foundation has set up a pickup and delivery system and has mailed
a request for donations of all kinds to more than 14,000 lawyers in
the metro area.
The Keenan Law Firm's small conference room doubles as a warehouse
for donations until they are delivered to Family Life Ministries for
distribution. Boxes of children's shoes and plastic bags of clothing
share space with boxes of legal files.
The need is great, but Jane Gunter, founder and director of Family
Life Ministries, says that donations have been slow lately. "Donating
clothing items shouldn't end with Christmas," she said.
Gunter's organization is run by 156 volunteers who are passionate
about what they do and the people they serve. "We love our people.
They're treated as friends. We hug everybody," she said. "Love is
spoken here."
The Keenan's Kids Foundation was formed to improve the lives of children
at risk tlrrough direct assistance and through continuous training
of law students and lawyers to be more aware of children's needs.
"I'm not out to end child homelessness, I'm out to make a little
difference," said Keenan. He describes himself as a pebble in the
water, creating ripples of difference.
"Too often people make a global assessment and think, 'Why bother?'
But if you take care of what's in front of you the big picture will
take care of itself," he said.
Anyone interested in donating items of clothing for Atlanta 's
homeless children can contact the foundation at 404-523-2200 to arrange
for pickup.
Back to Keenan's Kids Foundation
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