First Taste of Summer Was a Huge Success

More than 200 people attended Aspire’s First Taste of Summer: Ben-A-Fit 6, on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at Aspire’s Living and Careers facility in Hillside, IL. Corporate partners, donors, families and friends of all abilities enjoyed great food, including popular Chicago food truck, Lunchbox, as well as raffles, live bands and tours of the brand new Aspire Career Academy. The Career Academy is a state-of-the-art facility that provides job training for adults with disabilities and gives local corporations access to an important and untapped labor pool.  The event raised $20,000 to help give adults with disabilities at Aspire the opportunity to live and work in our communities.

Ben-A-Fit was founded by Ben Adelman, a young man with cerebral palsy who wanted to give back to Aspire for the help he received as a child and now as an adult. Today, Ben works at Superior Ambulance in Elmhurst, his dream job, and lives with housemates in an Aspire Community Home.

Each year Ben-A-Fit celebrates of the successes and personal growth of individuals with disabilities participating in Aspire’s programs. This year Ben-A-Fit celebrated the success of Karen Kusch. When Karen started with Aspire a year and a half ago, she had a plan – she wanted to move into a more independent living arrangement and work in her community. Karen not only has accomplished both of these goals, she’s advocated for herself and her peers, helping others get jobs as well.

Watch Ben’s Story