F . R . E . E .

Funding Reservation Education Equality

Who we are

“According to the Global Partnership for Education's 2019 Results Report, reliable access to quality education is most formative to long-term societal and economic progress, and in particular, the advancement of impoverished groups. To this end, FREE exists to combat our domestic crisis, to instill and enrich educative initiative, resources, and opportunities in school systems throughout America’s reservations.”

A Background:

For centuries, the zealous expansion of civilization has seen the furthering of connectivity in our world and integration of our cultures. However, this long conquest-full experiment has also produced subjugation and disparity, being a party to the mindless and audacious of history, those who deal in encroachment, manipulation and tyranny. In the heart of our own United States, a nation founded upon communal justice and liberty, resides a group of peoples in extreme poverty and abhorrent opportunity. These people are the indigenous Americans of the Great Plains, and in particular, the Lakota Sioux of Pine Ridge Reservation. According to re-member.org, Pine Ridge contains the poorest of recorded counties in the United States and is home to the lowest life expectancy average in the Northern Hemisphere.

Among over 500 Indian Nations found in the US, the Lakota Sioux incur countless instances of maltreatment and neglect. And so the question remains, why has our country failed to protect and support its indigenous communities?

to attain Opportunity:

When I was a boy, my parents took my older brother Joey and I out of school in Dublin, Ireland, and moved our family to South Dakota. This was following the collapse of our family business with the intention of operating an old dairy farm. While Joe and I were between the ages of 7 and 5 respectively, we were profoundly aware of the difference between our formerly-Irish education and American grade school. As we grew older, we were also soon to realize distinctions between the friendly, courteous nature of our upbringing as opposed to the stoic, tactless attitude throughout our new rural community. And yet, despite these differences, including the now faraway friends and family left by our parents and an unexpectedly formidable winter climate, we still found a society fully furnished with these basic necessities: purchasing power, clean and reliable municipal facilities, clean (and healthy) foodstuffs and water, an active and accountable police force, and a robust education system. Working in tandem, the first four conditions can maintain a strong and nourished community, but with strong K-12 education structures, it can thrive. Each of these conditions suffers neglect across South Dakota’s reservations.

According to the Global Partnership for Education's 2019 Results Report, reliable access to quality education is most formative to long-term societal and economic progress, and in particular, the advancement of impoverished groups. To this end, FREE exists to combat our domestic crisis; to instill and enrich educative initiatives, resources, and opportunities in school systems throughout America’s reservations.

Forming Vision:

Please explore our links throughout this page. As a young but dedicated organization, Free hosts a number of fundraisers, some contingent upon the varying needs of each school throughout the year. Our most notable initiatives include:

• Back to School Fundraiser for supplies, books, and other resources (held between August and October).

• Winter coats, hats, gloves and other cold-weather garments (held from November to February).

• Upgrade and Restoration Fundraisers (occur when need is found or requested by affiliated schools).

• Summer Opportunity Fund, affording middle and highschool students opportunities to travel and/or attend educative programs during the summer months (held February to May).

• the Affinity Academy Fund, our brand-new (and developing) program to provide reservation-located schools enriched access to crash courses in computer programming, engineering and physics, literature and argument, and other creative disciplines.

While our efforts are burgeoning, we hope you’ll find our intention earnest and implementation effective. If you believe in the guided potential of tomorrow’s generation, it is our hope that you’ll support our mission to ensure equal opportunity for all of its members.

Like many millions of immigrant families, my transition to the U.S. was culturally and emotionally bewildering. For my brother and I, our education was one of the few constants. We were encouraged to enjoy our trek in academics and to leave no stone unturned, maturing our Irish-American identity and sense of community. To deny such discovery for children of any cultural or ethnic family is devoid of humanity and the American ideals that I’ve come to love. So long as this neglect remains across impoverished pockets of our society, I urge you to contribute to our cause. Thank you for reading this far, and please feel free to reach me at oscartkavanagh@outlook.com for any inquiries.

Let no curious flame be extinguished,

Oscar Kavanagh, Director

FREE is a registered Nonprofit Organization operating with zero administrative costs or fees. Every dollar raised is donated.