ASPIRE open house…and soup too!

Edie Vindasius, left, waits her turn to try some soup while Marianne Fehr ladles out a bowl for herself at the ASPIRE (Arbeit Schule Program in Rural Elgin) open house and soup and bun night at East Elgin Secondary School in Aylmer on Tuesday evening, Oct. 20. Community volunteers made several varieties of soup that along with buns were offered free to those attending the event which included student-led tours and displays. ASPIRE is an alternative education program based out of EESS that aims to keep at-risk students, mostly from the Low-German Mennonite community, in school and on track to graduate. Students in the program can study at their own pace by either attending sessions at EESS during the day or after hours, at home with visits by teachers or attending sessions at a library.