ASPIRA Clubs
South Florida and
Participating States

Empowering Minority Youth
ASPIRA, a program originally designed for the Puerto Rican community, has grown to reach many more Latino and other minorities. Presently, ASPIRA serves over 25,000 students each year in more than 400 schools through its core activity, ASPIRA Clubs, an educational peer-culture model. States and territories with ASPIRA Clubs include: Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Illinois, and Connecticut. Club members are from middle and high schools.

ASPIRA provides leadership training, career and college counseling, financial aid, scholarship assistance, educational advocacy, cultural activities, and most important, continuing opportunities to implement community action projects. ASPIRA’s mission is to empower the minority community through the education and leadership development of its youth. Its goal is to develop a better-educated, community-conscious, and committed youth.

In order to address the high dropout rate of Hispanics and other minority groups, ASPIRA teaches youth about leadership through education, helping them graduate from high school and get into colleges. It brings together students, parents, schools, and community members to promote educational success and community service. ASPIRA also works with foundations, corporations, and the government to improve educational opportunities for young Latinos. The organization maintains different charter schools in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Illinois.

Youth Leadership and the ASPIRA Process
The Youth Leadership Development Program (YLD) is the core of ASPIRA. Through school-based leadership, ASPIRA Club students learn the “ASPIRA Process" of awareness, analysis, and action. The program provides leadership training, cultural enrichment activities, and community action projects that teach students how to become effective leaders in their communities. Each club is represented at the ASPIRA Clubs Federation (ACF), an assembly that convenes every quarter to discuss action-oriented activities for all clubs.

Once joining and receiving information from advisors, members can become club officers, where they take leadership roles and show their planning and networking skills. Every club decision is taken through a vote. The club advisor works with the students when they have difficult tasks, encouraging them to try harder. This allows the students to feel they were able to complete tasks by themselves.

Trying Their Hardest
Students feel successful when they try their hardest to accomplish a task. Members vote for club officers, who feel that the leadership role is a mark of individual success. In addition, there is an annual award ceremony where advisors give special awards to club members who have worked especially hard on assignments.

ASPIRA’s success can be seen in its increased recruitment every year. And each year, more members graduate from high school and get jobs, scholarships, and acceptances to quality colleges.

What Works
(1) Teamwork
(2) Communication
(3) Leadership
(4) Friendship
(5) Action
(6) Peer relationships
(7) Role models

These qualities alone are the reason ASPIRA has been able to complete any task it has been given.

Spread the Word
In all participating States, ASPIRA gets involved in a variety of local activities, which gives it community recognition and an opportunity for outreach. The ASPIRA organization is also able to open chapters in other cities and States, responding to local needs and opportunities.

Funding
Donations are made by businesses and corporations. Foundations also provide support. Fundraisers are held for club members: for example, to offset the cost of a college tour, half the trip is paid by a government grant and the other half through money raised by members.