Striving Together Equals Progress Inc. (S.T.E.P.) is a nonprofit Rites of Passage and Manhood Development Organization based in Newark, New Jersey.  S.T.E.P was started in the year 2000 by five concerned men with one central purpose in mind:

 

"To Raise Strong, Conscious, Productive Men."

 

S.T.E.P. involves a program format that addresses the cultural, educational, and emotional well-being of program participants, emphasizing but not limited to the following areas:

 

-Low Self-esteem

-Lack of Self-awareness

-Juvenile delinquence

-Adolescent fatherhood

-Gang Violence

-Health Deterioration

-Drugs

-HIV/AIDS

 

S.T.E.P. has established a core curriculum that includes:

 

-Culture

-Spirituality

-Science

-Economics

-Health & Nutrition

-Leadership

 

An important aspect of the S.T.E.P. philosophy is "in knowledge there is power". We have placed emphasis on this reality in the drafting of our curriculum format. Additional components of the S.T.E.P. program involve special lectures, cultural and educational field trips, nutrition, self-defense training, and an emphasis on community service.