Out of a tiny office staffed by one employee offering only two programs, STEP Inc. has grown over five decades to serve more than 17,000 people and 6,800 families each year through 30 programs and now has dozens of buildings that help a variety of people across Lycoming and Clinton counties.

“Fifty years is quite a milestone when you think about how many people we’ve serviced and how often,” said Rachelle Abbott, chief operations officer. “We definitely have a depth and breadth within the community, and that’s really exciting.”

STEP is a nonprofit community action agency, meaning the people served by its programs provide

input and direction on what they need most. STEP’s myriad programs fall into its five designated “pathways to success” — early learning, housing options, independent living, workforce development and community collaboration.

Its independent living pathway serves more than 4,000 senior citizens through its Office of Aging programs, for which 600 volunteers contributed about 53,000 hours of service. More than 1,500 older adults also were aided by the Meals on Wheels program, and more than 103,000 shared-ride trips were provided for medical appointments, work and other reasons.

The Centers for Healthy Aging also helps local seniors by providing them with daily meals, exercise programs and other activities. The RiverWalk Center in South Williamsport, which opened in January, is one of eight centers serving both counties that offers classes such as Tai Chi, Zumba and cooking that not only promote healthy living but also encourage socialization.

Autumn Noll, of Lock Haven, started working with STEP in 2012 and felt immediately like it was a good fit. She began helping in a nursing home, and is now the center coordinator for the RiverWalk Center.

“I felt like the office of healthy aging was the direction I wanted to keep heading in,” she said. “I’ve got an old soul. I fit in with our older population.”

Last year, the early learning pathway aided more than 1,300 infants and children who received necessary immunizations as well as medical and dental care. There also were 1,505 children who participated in preschool activities provided by STEP.

Other services through that pathway help adults improve their parenting skills.

It’s one of several programs that touch the lives of many community members, Abbott said.

“You can hardly talk to anyone without hearing about how someone was a Head Start kid,” she said.

Through the housing options pathway, 14 houses were rehabilitated last year, promoting energy-related savings and social benefits in those communities, such as increased employment, improved quality of homes, economic stimulation and more.

The workforce development pathway aided 903 employed or school-enrolled parents in gaining services through the child care subsidy program, and 962 parents enrolled their children in before- or after-school programs.

More than 350 employed clients were provided with reliable transportation.

Communitywide partnerships with 565 organizations have been developed through the Community Collaboration pathway over the years. Last year, STEP AmeriCorps service members provided more than 30,000 hours of community service.

“We don’t do everything for everybody,” STEP President and CEO Jim Plankenhorn said. “But we do have partners throughout the counties so that we can connect customers with what they need.”

Nearly 3,500 of those customers used a program called Service Navigation, which is meant to identify and address the struggles an individual or family may face on the path to self-sufficiency.

STEP’s transportation services provided 103,051 rides helping people get to and from medical appointments, work, school and other activities, amounting to more than 1 million miles on the company vans in 2015, Plankenhorn said.

“It’s a huge scope of service. It’s really expanded, even just over the last year,” he said.

Eugene Phillips, of Hughesville, has been driving for STEP for the past two years, and he loves his job, he said.

“I have a lot of customers I pick up quite frequently and I enjoy helping them out,” he said. “I look forward to going to work every day. I just like helping people out — that’s it.”

Phillips said his work is a win-win for him.

“I get to see a lot of the countryside and travel, and meet a whole lot of people who might normally be home-bound or nursing home-bound,” he said.

Another part of being a community action agency is the assessment it is required to make every few years. This assessment tells STEP and other organizations like it, such as the United Way, what the community needs and, therefore, what programs STEP should develop.

“Our last assessment showed that hunger is on the rise in both counties,” Abbott said. “So we’re partnering with the food bank to teach classes.”

The partners will offer cooking classes when the food pantry opens its kitchen, she said. There also are weekly cooking classes taught at centers for healthy aging.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities,” Abbott said. “What are the best ways and most cost-effective ways to help our customers?”

STEP also has an AmeriCorps program, providing people willing to serve their communities with marketable skills, experience and education. Shenique Coats, of Williamsport, became an AmeriCorps member after hearing about the organization’s good deeds through a family member.

“(My cousin) explained all the good stuff AmeriCorps does, and I just wanted to give back to the community,” Coats, who is in her first year serving, said.

Another service member, Ikeima Lowe, a Philadelphia native living in Williamsport, started her service by working with North Penn Legal Services.

“I had the opportunity to help families in crisis,” she said. “Families who were trying to balance their lives around turmoil.”

Both Lowe and Coats have been utilizing STEP’s services — such as transportation, weatherization and childcare — since before joining STEP AmeriCorps, they said.

“There’s so much that people don’t know about,” Coats said. “Like, their transportation can help you if your car is broken. I think their services are awesome.”

“Services and resources are here to be used, so use them if you need them,” Lowe added.