Filling the Container: Keenan Z.’s Athletic Provisions Association Sets Sights on Sierra Leone

At Dunn School, the core value of Social Responsibility isn't just something students learn about—it's something they put into action.

A little over a year ago, we shared the story of Dunn student Keenan Z. and his rapidly growing nonprofit, the Athletic Provisions Association (APA). At the time, Keenan and his organization were making waves by outfitting local Central Coast youth teams and bringing a small collection of sports gear to kids in Rwanda.

Today, that mission has scaled up dramatically. Keenan is currently spearheading a massive campus-wide donation drive to fill an entire 20-foot by 8-foot shipping container with sports equipment, all destined for young athletes in Sierra Leone.

The Spark: Building Community Through Play

The inspiration for this massive undertaking traces back to Keenan's eye-opening trip to Rwanda in January of 2025.

"I didn’t realize the extent of the poverty," Keenan reflects. Hoping to do some good, he brought along a few soccer balls and jerseys to give away. The reaction was unforgettable. "It looked like you were giving them a million dollars. It resonated with me because my whole goal with APA is to create community in those villages. We gave them two or three soccer balls, and suddenly there were 30 or 40 kids hanging out together, enjoying each other’s company, splitting up into teams. They were loving it."

A Global Alumni Partnership

That Rwandan experience proved the power of sports to unite a community, but the scale of the Sierra Leone project required a powerful partnership.

Enter Sahid Conteh, a Dunn School alumnus originally from Sierra Leone. Sahid has a long-standing personal tradition of giving back to his home country whenever he returns. When he saw the impact Keenan was making through APA, Sahid approached him with an idea: What if they collaborated on a much larger scale?

Together, they secured a massive shipping container and set an ambitious goal to fill it completely.

Thanks to generous sponsors like Under Armour, the APA has already secured a foundational donation of several thousand jerseys and shorts. Because Sahid’s background is primarily in soccer and Keenan’s is heavily rooted in basketball, they have a strong baseline of apparel for those sports. However, to truly pack the container and serve as many children as possible, they need the Dunn community's help.

How You Can Help

While the thousands of brand-new jerseys and shorts are incredible, a complete athletic experience requires more than just uniforms. This is where the Dunn donation drive comes in.

"Donations from the Dunn community are helping because we’re getting shoes and balls," Keenan explains. "What is really great about people donating is it gives more variety. It’s helping grow sports, keeping other kids feeling included and grateful."

Here is how you can support the Sierra Leone project:

• What to Donate: New or gently used sports equipment. The highest needs include athletic shoes, balls (soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.), and gear for a wide variety of sports.
• Where to Donate: Donation bins are currently located throughout the Upper School. An additional bin will soon be placed at Dunn Middle School (DMS).
• The Timeline: The donation drive will run through the end of the school year and graduation, with the goal of shipping the fully loaded container to Sierra Leone in early July.

"The Community is Coming Together"

For Keenan, the most rewarding part of this ambitious project has been watching his fellow students and faculty rally behind the cause.

"I feel like we can genuinely fill the container," Keenan says. "Everyone’s been really great, and the community is really coming together. I haven’t seen anything like this here before. People want to help, but they don’t always know how to."

Now, they do. Check your closets, grab that outgrown pair of cleats or extra basketball, and drop it in an APA bin on campus today.