Latest News

Join the crew of the good ship Aspire!

July 23, 2025

Hard as it is to believe, Aspire students are more than halfway through with our summer learning camp! These past two weeks have been filled…

Journey Through Mythical Realms

July 8, 2025

Our summer learning camp is in full swing, and our halls are once more ringing with students’ laughter and excitement as they participate in hands-on…

Spread the Word and Make Your Voice Heard

July 3, 2025

Thank you for your partnership and support of Aspire! We’ve put together this toolkit with resources you can use to advocate for Aspire and speak…

Washington Post Article: An after-school program in Trump’s backyard struggles to survive DOGE cuts

June 3, 2025

Aspire was honored to recently be featured in a Washington Post article that highlighted the impact of AmeriCorps funding cuts on our students, AmeriCorps members,…

Paula Fynboh Receives Torch Award for Ethical Leadership

May 21, 2025

Aspire’s Executive Director, Paula Fynboh, was awarded the 2025 Torch Award for Ethical Leadership by Leadership Center of Arlington! The Torch Award for Ethical Leadership…

Updates on AmeriCorps Funding Cuts: Rising Together with our Community

May 6, 2025

Since Aspire was impacted by DOGE cuts to AmeriCorps on April 28th, we have finalized a plan that will allow us to continue serving and…

Rising Together Fundraising Toolkit

May 6, 2025

Thank you for your partnership and support of Aspire! We’ve put together this toolkit with ideas and sample language that you can use to help…

Impact of AmeriCorps Cuts on Aspire

May 6, 2025

Who is Aspire?  Aspire Afterschool Learning is a nonprofit in Arlington, Virginia that provides comprehensive no-cost afterschool and summer learning programming to historically underserved 3rd-8th…

Statement on AmeriCorps Funding Cuts

April 30, 2025

Over the weekend, DOGE cut $400M (41%) of all AmeriCorps programs for the current year, impacting 1,000+ organizations and over 30,000 AmeriCorps members.  Unfortunately, these…

A Day Dedicated to Education

March 25, 2025

Written by Paula Fynboh, Executive Director The “opportunity gap” is such a big topic. Many reports and books have been written about it, and yet…

Follow the Sun

March 19, 2025

Written by Chelsea Whitt, Aspire AmeriCorps Member I admit that the past several weeks as a teacher have been difficult. There have been days where…

Aspire’s 2024-2025 Mid-Year Results

February 6, 2025

Aspire is celebrating our 30th anniversary this year, as well as finishing the last year of our current three-year strategic plan (July 2022-June 2025). Halfway…

Lessons and Growth in Class Two

January 13, 2025

Written by Celia Chadwick, Aspire AmeriCorps Member Some of my favorite things about teaching are watching the kids improve their reading (this is priceless), bond…

A Day in the Life

December 12, 2024

Written by Chelsea Whitt, Aspire AmeriCorps Member The doors open to the Drew Community Center, and the students stomp, strut, or stumble in, their loud…

Raffle Announcement for 30th Anniversary Celebration

September 25, 2024

If you were part of Aspire’s fall event last year, you may remember the popularity of the raffle. These fun prizes are always a highlight…