Nothing can change a life like a great education. Our mission at the Fred J. Adams Foundation is to provide need-based funds to families so that their children might have access to an excellent Catholic education.

South Carolina’s public schools rank 43rd nationally, according to the 2022 KIDS COUNT® Data Book. The pandemic exacerbated an already stressed school system, leaving students without the hands-on attention they need to thrive.

At Prince of Peace Catholic School in Taylors, SC, students benefit from smaller classroom size, dedicated teachers, an outstanding curriculum that balances traditional and modern modalities, and truly remarkable faith formation. https://popcatholicschool.org/

Fred J. Adams was born into a family of nine children. He was 14 when his father passed, leaving his widowed mother to support the children on her secretary’s salary. By the grace of God, somehow Fred managed to stumble his way into a good education and that made all the difference in his life. We believe there are a lot of other little Freddy Joes out there, children who have so much to offer the world if they are just given the chance to thrive. It is our mission to provide those children with the opportunity to find their best selves at Prince of Peace Catholic School.

It is possible The Fred J. Adams Foundation will evolve and come to embrace additional missions in the future. But given Fred’s devotion to Prince of Peace Catholic School, and the impact education made on his life, this feels like the right place to start.

*In compliance with the law, the descendants of Fred J. Adams may not and will not benefit from any monies donated to The Fred J. Adams Foundation

Fred Adams lived a most implausible life. This is true of every remarkable individual, so let me share one story that sums up the kind of crazy that made Fred, Fred.

In 1995, Fred wasn’t feeling well. He had a lot of big weights on his shoulders. He had a daughter in college, and four generations living under one roof. His mother-in-law, had dementia, his oldest daughter had returned home with her toddler, and his son was in middle school. After retired as a Special Agent with IRS, Fred became a CPA and went out on his own, his wife, Irene, by his side, working behind the front desk and also behind the scenes.

Their first year of business was 1993. They serve 67 clients, which felt like a tremendous success, but not so much money was coming in the door. By 1995, the business had grown some, but considering Fred’s financial obligations the stress was significant. One day, a severe pain in his side dropped him to his knees. He went into the doctor, but before a diagnosis was made, Fred and Irene took a trip to Hawaii. Vacations were not something they did at this time, so this was a very special occasion. They went knowing something was seriously wrong and decided to enjoy every possible moment in Hawaii. While there, they bought a wooden whale paperweight that still sits on my brother’s desk today.

They returned home. In January of 1996, they received a diagnosis of leukemia. They were not surprised, as Irene’s father had passed from leukemia in 1993, and the memory of his symptoms were still fresh. Initially, the prognosis was poor, so Fred ignored it. And just kept on ignoring it, working to provide for his family.

Still, something was bothering him, and it wasn’t just the leukemia. It was the weather. Fred was born and raised in Alabama and was a Southern boy through-and-through. The IRS had transferred him to Seattle, and that Bama boy never took to the gray skies, the dark winters, or the coolness of the people. Fred and Irene had investigated moving to the South before, searching in the Atlanta area, and had never found the right time or place to make it happen.

One day, Fred was pushing his granddaughter Courtney in her stroller, when he looked up into the sky and saw an arrow-shaped cloud pointing South.

The cloud was such a perfect arrow, so perfectly aligned to the South, that Fred’s heart leapt with the heat of epiphany—God wanted him to move back home, back to the South.

He returned home filled with the zeal of the Holy Spirit, and informed Irene of what had just happened, the sign from God he had just received.

It was one year after a cancer diagnosis. They still had four generations under one roof and a child only halfway through college. There were horses in the backyard and pets in the house. They had a brand-new business still struggling to take off. They knew next to no one in the South. They were loaded down with dependents and problems to solve.

Despite all of this, Irene celebrated with Fred and said YES.

In the early summer of 1997, they drove across the country to Greenville, SC. And the rest, as they say, is history. Fred just kept living, baffling oncologists at every turn. The business just kept on growing, and Fred and Irene kept on adventuring, living their best lives in a town they loved, at a church they adored, serving clients and the community with integrity, joy, and hope.

The Fred J. Adams Foundation is finally open! Please donate! We are starting from scratch, and it is going to take an awful lot of dinero to make a difference, so please help us help children get the life-changing education that will not only shape their future, but the future of their families and loved ones.

COMING in 2024 – We plan on putting the FUN in FUNdraiser! Freddy Joe was the funniest and most fun man we ever knew. At Fred’s funeral Mass, Father Smith made a reference to the famous St. Theresa of Avila quote, “Lord, deliver me from sad-faced saints,” because Fred was the very opposite of a sad-faced saint. He was, in fact, the best sort of rascal, who loved comedy.

All that said, our first fundraising event will be a stand-up comedy benefit. The line-up is already coming together, and it is outstanding.