About us
Fact Sheet
- Aspire was founded in 1960 and is recognized throughout Illinois as a leader in innovative approaches to serving people with developmental disabilities.
- Aspire helps children and adults with disabilities such as autism, Asperger’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, chromosome disorder and abnormality, Down syndrome and mental retardation.
- Aspire is one of the largest human service non-profits in west suburban Chicago.
- Aspire’s team of 400 dedicated staff provide high quality, personalized services to more than 1,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities.
- Aspire has 21 program and residential sites serving 50 Chicagoland communities.
- We offer neighborhood-based services. Our homes and programs blend into the community, giving our participants the chance to enjoy the fullness of neighborhood life.
- Aspire is accredited by the Commission on Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and licensed by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois Department of Labor and Illinois Department of Public Health.
- As a not-for-profit charity, we rely heavily on the generous support of hundreds of donors. When you give to Aspire, you help each person we serve reach a little farther, a little higher.
Emerson was born with a rare chromosomal disorder resulting in mental retardation and ongoing health problems. “Throughout our journey we’ve been fortunate enough to have Aspire as our support and shoulder to cry on (literally),” says mother Candi.