Aspire

08/31/2026

I'm going to be real with y'all. Running an older youth enrichment program sometimes feels like herding cats 🐈 and sometimes feels superhero-esque 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ because we're changing the world one teenager at a time.

📣 Meet the 2026-2027 team:

This school year we're partnering with two amazing humans (Oscar & Alex) who care deeply about the community and have a passion for working with youth, so we can provide even more opportunities to the youth at Aspire through collaboration with Fremont Salvation Army. 🎉

We've already introduced you to Kaley and Holly who stepped in to help us out. 💖💖 We're so blessed to have them back at Aspire!

Brian Springer has been a familiar face at Aspire since the summer of 2023. He serves as our Facility Director coordinating the food and facilities for Aspire. We are very blessed to have a man who loves the Lord on our team to be a mentor to the young men we serve, and we will be tapping more into his expertise in culinary arts as we further develop our career readiness tracks. We're excited to see how God uses the gifts He's given Brian to influence Aspire's program and the youth we serve.

After we posted the introductions of Kaley and Holly one of the board members suggested that I share about me too. I'm going to be real real honest and tell you that I don't like talking about myself and I don't have great self-esteem anyways. So, what I can tell you is that we started forming Aspire for Greatness in February 2020 (the month before the world shut down). As we enter our 6th year of providing afterschool programming for older youth I am so in awe of what God has done through our mission to impact the next generation, and I am so grateful I have been able to be a part of it.

It is important to mention another person too. Although she does not work as staff during the school year this year or last, Amy Von Behren is a fundamental part of our ministry. She serves in the summer as a key staff member and last school year she was a substitute when Brian or myself couldn't be at Aspire. 💖

Are we actually superheroes? No.
Are we going to embrace our effort to work together to infuse hope in the next generation? Absolutely.

08/28/2026

Last school year Aspire ended up serving very similar numbers for daily attendance averages with only two staff members as we did the previous year with six staff members and the support of the Fremont Family YMCA staff (other than the first month of the 2025-2026 school year when we tried our best to limit registration). Although it's been a wild ride, it's encouraging to know that youth continue to show up to Aspire's afterschool program and benefit from it! 🥰

If you want to brag on what God accomplished last school year, and what He continues to do through Aspire, you can nominate us for an award here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBQP6l9YzX4p81j8L-Dmt0q9PgrYNDizQrmJD7FjJuRxKD3w/viewform

😁

08/28/2026

New school year, new ways to support Aspire's out of school time program for older youth. 💖

1. Donate snacks or sign up to bring a meal once a month: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FA9A628A1FAC70-65119145-evening #/

2. Purchase a CBS Apologetics Bible for Teens (you can even write an encouraging note in it for the Aspire participant that will receive it - cool, right?!). A picture of the Bible is in the comments section or you can visit Aspire's Amazon Wishlist.

3. Sponsor us taking youth to the Reality Youth Conference in November in Minnesota (it's a two day Christian Apologetics conference for youth).

4. Share about your career or your testimony at Aspire's after school program.

5. Donate program supplies like arts & crafts, sports equipment, games, etc. or basic hygiene items (shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.).

6. Share with your circle who we are and our mission to change the world one teenager at a time.

We have some amazing opportunities in front of us this year. God is opening doors 🙌 and you have the opportunity to provide support so we can walk through them.

Aspire has been underfunded our entire existence which has limited our ability to serve more youth and provide the adult to student ratios that allow us the space to build relationships, provide academic support, and be able to fully invest in the lives of the youth we are serving. Even a gift of $10 helps Aspire! Online donations can be made through our website www.aspirefremont.org and every gift is tax-deductible.

From the bottom of our hearts, thanking you helping us pour into the lives of area teens and pre-teens. 💖

Food insecurity is a reality for many families across the United States and even in our own community. Aspire is working to combat food insecurity by providing a free, optional, light evening meal to program participants to lighten the burden on the families that we serve. Please consider signing up...

08/15/2026

New school year, new opportunities. 👏

🌟 Leadership lessons
🌟 Character building
🌟 Faith forming
🌟 Work ethic training
🌟 Career exploration
🌟 Life skills
🌟 Caring adults
🌟 Food, fun, and fellowship!

See you Monday! 🎉 Let's goooooooo!!!!

08/12/2026

Happy **International Youth Day!** 🎉

Today we're celebrating the dreamers, the creators, the question-askers, the game changers... and yes, the teenagers who somehow survive on three hours of sleep and a gas station energy drink. 😅

At Aspire, we don't see young people as "the leaders of tomorrow." We see them as leaders TODAY. Every conversation, every challenge overcome, every act of kindness, every new skill learned is shaping not only their future—but the future of our community.

IMHO young people don't just need to be told they're the future. They need caring adults who believe in them right now.

Here's to the next generation. We think they're pretty incredible. ❤️

08/12/2026

Happy FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL friends at FPS! 😊🎉

We hope you had a great summer and are excited for the new opportunities in front of you this school year.

Just so everyone is aware, Aspire's after-school program DOES NOT start today. We will start on Monday, August 17th (the first full week of school).

We apologize for any inconvenience this causes in having to make different arrangements these first few days.

We know you're excited to be back at Aspire, and trust me, we are excited to have you back!!!! But we have a lot of new things planned and the few days wait will be worth it.

So go make today your best first day yet and we'll see you on MONDAY!!! 💖

📣 Not signed up yet? Go to our website at www.aspirefremont.org to sign up for this school year.

Don't have a 5th-12th grader but want to support the work we're doing so we can continue to pour into the next generation all at no cost to participants and their families? Then head to that same website and hit the donate tab. 💖

07/30/2026

Hey, you there 👀🫵

Want to hear some more fun Aspire news??? (Of course you do!)

🎉 Please join us in welcoming Holly Porter to the Aspire For Greatness team as our new Program Director! 💖

Some of you may even recognize Holly—she volunteered with Aspire a few years ago, so she already understands and believes in our mission of helping young people discover their God-given purpose and potential.

We are so excited to have Holly back on the Aspire team! 💖

Holly is a licensed drug and alcohol counselor with a heart for helping others find hope and healing. She loves Jesus, has a genuine passion for investing in young people, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will strengthen the support we provide to the youth and families we serve. 👏👏

As Program Director, Holly will oversee our daily programming and work directly with our youth. She'll meet with participants individually, help them set goals, check in on academics, celebrate successes, and walk alongside them through life's challenges. One of the greatest gifts we can give a young person is a trusted, caring adult who truly sees them, listens to them, and believes in them.

While Aspire is not a counseling program, Holly's professional background gives our team additional knowledge and insight to better support youth who are navigating difficult situations, including substance misuse and other life challenges. Her presence will help ensure that every young person who walks through our doors has someone who cares deeply about their well-being and can connect them and their families to resources and support.

This is an exciting step forward for Aspire! 🥳 Having Holly oversee our daily program also allows me to devote more time to my Executive Director responsibilities—building partnerships, cultivating relationships, expanding opportunities, and ensuring Aspire continues to grow so we can serve even more youth in our community.

We are incredibly thankful that God has brought Holly back to Aspire, and we can't wait for you to meet her if you haven't already. ❤️

Please help us give Holly a warm Aspire welcome in the comments! 👇

07/29/2026

📣 Well... she came back! ❤️ Ok.... she's been back for a couple months now. 😆😉

We are SOOOO excited to welcome Kaley back to the Aspire team. She's been leading our new EC2 program and helping coordinate our new Leadership & Workforce Development initiatives. 👏

Honestly... we couldn't dream up a better person for this role.

Many of you may remember Kaley from her days as a Midland University education student, when she worked at Aspire for our second ever summer program, and for several years after.

She quickly became a favorite—not just because she's an incredible teacher, but because she's one of those people who naturally connects with young people. She has a gift for making them feel capable, encouraged, and excited to learn.

Since then she graduated, got married, became a teacher, and recently-ish welcomed a beautiful baby into the world. ❤️ We're incredibly thankful that this new season of life has brought her back to Aspire and we didn't scare her away forever!

Watching Kaley work with our EC2 young adults has been so much fun. She doesn't just teach a lesson, she equips them to become teachers themselves. She pours into them, builds their confidence, and prepares them to lead hands-on STEM activities for younger children in our community. It's exactly what Aspire is all about: developing leaders who go on to invest in others.

And let's be honest... having someone who can wrangle teenagers and a baby probably means she's qualified for just about anything. 😆

Kaley, we're so grateful you're back. Our youth are lucky to have you, our team is stronger because of you, and we can't wait to see all that God has in store through your leadership this year.

Help us welcome Kaley back to Aspire in the comments! 💖💖💖

07/27/2026

Join us today from 3:00-6:00 pm for a FREE family event!!! 🤩

STEM activities led by Aspire youth who are doing the EC2 program to facilitate STEM activities.

It's all free and there's food too! Open House style.

07/27/2026

join us TODAY from 3:00-6:00 pm at Fremont Salvation Army for free family STEM activities and food! 🥳