When Aaron's Acres reaches out and touches lives, often the result is hugs. Aaron's Acres is expanding its footprint, flexing its muscles, strengthening its brand and creating more hugs.

The local nonprofit is adding staff members, adding programs and bringing more individuals under its umbrella, all in an attempt to satisfy needs and perform greater good.

"Over our first 26 years, we created the organization, built programs and established ourselves," said Risa Paskoff, who's been Aaron's Acres' executive director from the start. "We're now taking it to the next level. This is a major step for us. We want to present ourselves more professionally. This expansion is going to be on so many different levels. One of our dreams is to continue to be a family resource. We're helping families navigate the journeys they have with individuals with disabilities."

Located at 1861 Charter Lane, Suite 114, Lancaster, Aaron's Acres supports and provides recreational programs for children and young adults with disabilities like autism, Down syndrome, epilepsy, spina bifida and cerebral palsy, as well as their families. Aaron's Acres' programs, some of which are seasonal in nature, emphasize socialization and communication skills.

Since its inception in 1998, Aaron's Acres has focused on Lancaster, Dauphin, Berks, York, Lebanon and Perry County individuals who are between the ages of 5 and 21 and have disabilities. But Aaron's Acres' new programming, which will begin in November, will continue the nonprofits' more recent efforts to reach individuals with disabilities who are up to age 40.

"There's this huge need," said Paskoff. "The need is created by people who are graduating from high school. We're adding programs and a lot more ages, and we're hoping to continue to add more programs. We are being true to who we are by continuing to meet the mission. We are responding."

By adding more times and making programs more available to older individuals with disabilities, Aaron's Acres is expanding its cooking, arts and community services programs. Aaron's Acres is also looking at ways to expand its sports programming in an attempt to build on the momentum created by its sponsorship of the Chuckie Magee Flag Football and Cheerleading League.

The new programming will allow Aaron's Acres to serve another 25 individuals with disabilities between the ages of 21 and 40.

"In Lancaster County, a good number of people know about us," said Paskoff, "but we definitely need to do better in other counties. One of our goals is to expand our footprint, so people know who we are and what we do."

Aaron's Acres, which is overseen by a board of directors, is also in the process of hiring a new full-time program coordinator and a new part-time staff member. Those hires will push Aaron's Acres' number of employees to seven.

Aaron's Acres maintains a 1-to-1 or a 1-to-2 staff-to-client ratio.

"The excitement comes from taking the next step," said Paskoff. "We're growing and responding to the need. We're hearing from families, and we want to respond. (Parents and families) want to have the youth programs for younger children and programs for when (their children) graduate."

For additional information about Aaron's Acres, go to http://www.aaronsacres.org.