Help Lee Become an Outdoor Educator and Organizer

Lee Stedman is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hey Everyone! My name is Lee Stedman (they / them). I'm a climate activist, community organizer and aspiring Archaeologist and Outdoor Educator from Milwaukee, WI--and I desperately need your help.

I have only about 2 months left to raise funds for what will probably be one of the greatest journeys of my life. After taking a long internal look at the things I want to accomplish with my life, I decided to sign up for a course (Spring Semester for Outdoor Educators) at the start of this past summer through the world-renown National Outdoor Leadership School, or NOLS for short. (I was originally going to take an additional course with Outward Bound focused on Alpine Backpacking, but decided to put this on hold for the time being and focus my energy entirely on NOLS.) This program would teach me everything that I need to become an Outdoor Educator; to become a self-sufficient traveler--both in the backcountry and around the world--and learn the crucial teamwork skills necessary to become a better community organizer in the fight for social and environmental justice.

Collectively between the cost of tuition, the cost of gear, travel insurance and the actual travel arrangements to get to and from the course it will cost approximately $20,000. Which is A LOT. Especially for a piss poor ex-college kid and "starving activist" (my attempt at humor).

A lack of funding during the previous year due to Covid-19, has made the opportunity for financial aid for these programs almost non-existent. NOLS requires you to basically fund your own enrollment, primarily through crowdfunding efforts, does not accept federal student loans and expects the full tuition to be paid for about 75 days before the start of the course (hence the desperate need for immediate help). ***Exciting update: I managed to get awarded a $2000 scholarship from NOLS!***

I can’t afford this on my own. I’m faced with $5,000+ in medical debt, over $6000 in pre-existing student loans, somewhere near $2,000 in car repairs ever since my catalytic converter was stolen, the growing need for a new car and what depleting funds I do have I need to use to pay off debt from moving costs, the cost of rent, insurances, food, wisdom teeth removal, and so on. Most importantly, and you can read more about my vision in my blog, if I'm stuck in debt after this course I won't even be able to use the knowledge and skills I've gained to pursue my true goals since I'll be spending years working to pay off already growing debt again.

I did just manage to pick up a job as a Retail Sales Specialist with REI at one of their Flagship locations--after having successfully moved from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities over the past few weeks--which I'm incredibly excited for!!! However, even so, I'll be making just enough to pay off all my current monthly dues, but not enough to actually save a sufficient amount for the course on top of those expenses.

And I can’t afford to wait. I’ve become paralyzed by anxiety and depression and frequent near-burnout over the last few years and I have to put an end to it. There's so much that I want to do with my life; so much I envision for change that I want to be able to make while I'm still in my prime...

I know in my heart this is what I need to do in order to enter the next phase of my life. I'm ready for it. All that's holding me back is the lack of funds.

You're going to ask why are these programs so important to me, right?

Well, there’s a few reasons, which I go into much greater detail in my blog post on the subject. On one hand, they’ll allow me to work towards a double major in Anthropology and Outdoor Education and finally finish my four-year degree.

On the other hand, NOLS presents me with an invaluable opportunity to be able to combine my love for the outdoors with my work in the social and environmental movements. If I can become an Outdoor Educator, I can make my living by A) training myself to become mentally and physically stronger everyday by immersing myself in the natural world and B) teach others the importance of the natural world by taking them out into it–the one place where I also truly feel alive and empowered. It would allow me to spend my remaining time motivated, passionate and convicted towards my work as an organizer. Or vice versa, depending on the season, I could work as an organizer and then throw my remaining time into learning in the natural world. Additionally, the course would push me to my limits and I'm certain it will provide me with the growth that I need to become more confident in myself and the work that I want to do.

Either way, it would allow me to be able to fully apply myself to the two most important components of my philosophy: [human] community and the land community.

And that’s where the most important part comes into play…

Ever since I was 14, it’s been my dream to build a global grassroots organization to combat social and environmental oppression; to travel the world learning from countless cultures and frontline communities about their own perspectives on change, community and the relationship between humans and the natural world; to work towards building a bridge between our communities and cultures, and build a symbol–a catalyst–for unifying and implementing that change and enacting a paradigm shift. It’s everything I want to do. I want to travel the world to learn from the perspectives of others, see first hand the harm we’ve done to this planet, and find the people that collectively can form the core of that catalyst.

I've spent the last 5 years working tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of coalition building through my work with the Gaia Coalition Network (which you can read about on my blog here ) as well as other grassroots organizations, in order to bridge the divides within the social and environmental movements in WI and work towards creating a unified movement against the climate crisis and systemic oppression.

Gaia was a practice run for trying to figure out a system in order to better bring people together. To be able to bridge the divides between the social and environmental movements, end the competitive ideology of the organizing community that keeps leading to these “siloh” effects, and figure out how best to amplify the work on the ground. It’s my goal to take what I’ve learned from the last 5 years of constant organizing and apply it in full to make that dream a reality.

These programs will provide the basis for me to be able to push myself beyond my limits so I can make this happen. Through humility and perseverance, I’ll be able to become mentally, physically and spiritually stronger by learning the skills necessary to become as effective in operating as part of a team and as a leader.

And I know I sound impractical and idealistic when I talk like this. But, I’m asking you to believe in me, even if you think my dream itself is unrealistic. With the impending danger of the climate crisis, there isn't time to wait. I need to gain the skills necessary to truly do my part to fight back. Please give me the chance to prove that it’s possible.

A Call For Help:

It has and always will be my belief that those who have the ability to change the world, have the responsibility to do so.

Please help me be able to try to do so at my fullest. If you can donate to my GoFundMe, share it with others, propose it to your co-workers, bosses, local non-profits, family members, friends, teachers, classmates… It will be a world of help. And I promise you, it’ll all go back to my effort to rebuild this world and my goal to be able to amplify the work likewise being done by you and so many others.

Can I count on you to help me get there?

Thank You & In Solidarity,

Lee Stedman <3

P.S: After what can be considered probably the most trying and emotionally distraught summer of my life due to surgery, almost severing my Achilles Tendon and an abusive home (thanks to temporarily having to live with my step-dad), I'm finally getting back to this fundraiser. There's a few updates I had to make; I decided to drop the Outward Bound portion of this for the time being and instead focus entirely on raising funds for my 87 day NOLS course and I just finished moving from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities, where I've managed to pick up a job working at an REI Flagship store! (Yay!!!) So, for those of you that donated to me during the past few months, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. I needed a major life change and now I'm back on track. You'll be getting a big THANK YOU from me soon :)