Some day I hope to put together a history of the many non-profit organizations in Arlington that serve the public good. The impulse to organize community groups to help others has a long history in Arlington, but those are tales for another day. Today I want to lift up the story of Aspire Afterschool Learning, which unfortunately includes a  disturbing story of the impact of the Department of Governmental Efficiency, known as DOGE.

Aspire Afterschool Learning offers comprehensive, no-cost after-school and summer educational opportunities to 3rd through 8th grade students. Its history dates back to 1994, when parents, teachers and community members were seeking enrichment activities for under-served communities in Arlington. The Arlington Community Foundation, Greenbrier Baptist Church, and community leaders stepped up to provide educational support, under the original name of Greenbrier Learning Center (Many Arlington non-profits have two things in common: a creation story that involves faith communities, and an eventual name change!)

Aspire provides a safe place for learning at its main location at Arlington Mill Community Center, with educational programming that prepares students for high school and beyond. Partnering with other institutions across the County, Aspire connects its families with local schools, businesses, and County organizations. In the past two years, Aspire doubled the number of students it serves and opened new after-school sites at two Title I Arlington Public Schools to fill gaps in services and meet community needs.

Funding is always a consistent challenge for all of our safety-net non-profits in Arlington. Aspire has been able to utilize AmeriCorps members who serve students every day after school and during the summer, leading lessons, managing classrooms, and coordinating activities.

AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency created in 1993, with a mission to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. It has engaged millions of Americans in service through a variety of work/grant programs in many sectors.

In the last weekend of April, the people at DOGE cut AmeriCorps funding by 41 percent ($400 million), impacting over a thousand organizations and 30,000 AmeriCorps members. Roughly 75 percent of full-time AmeriCorps employees were placed on administrative leave by the DOGE leadership.

Aspire’s story provides a glimpse of the actual impact of such cuts. On Monday, April 28th, Aspire was notified that its funding was cut, and that it needed to cease its AmeriCorps program effective immediately (yes, immediately).This required the immediate termination of the 17 AmeriCorps members who served their students every day — students and their families who rely on Aspire for a safe place to be after school, with academic support. 

This is a significant loss in funding for Aspire (approximately 30 percent of its budget).  Aspire was serving a record 150 students this school year, and was on track to serve 140 students this summer. These cuts come at a time when many of its students are entering their programs two or more grade years behind.

While the funding gap is significant, there is hope, in large part due to the dedicated work of the Aspire organization, its staff, and its board of directors. It is somewhat ironic that, at this time of the DOGE cuts, Aspire had been winning plaudits from the community at large. The Arlington Chamber of Commerce this spring awarded its Best Non-Profit Business Award to Aspire; and Executive Director Paula Fynboh received the 6th annual Torch Award for Ethical Leadership from the Leadership Center of Arlington.

In accepting the award, Ms. Fynboh referred to the “alumni” AmeriCorps members who have returned to Aspire this month, to fill in for those who were terminated. She noted that  “…this award is in recognition of those former AmeriCorps members who said they would return to Aspire, not for the meager living stipend they receive, but to create a softer landing for our families.”

Meanwhile, she praised her board of directors, who “…had the moral courage to approve having Aspire be the only nonprofit in Virginia to sign on to a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal termination of our AmeriCorps funding.”

The story will continue, eventually to be written by future historians. I share this part of the story because, while I enjoy sharing parts of Arlington’s past history, I feel it is also important to document our current history.