The original agency logo. People, Inc. began as the Hayter's Gap Community Club in a rural valley along the northern border of Washington County, Virginia, in January of 1964. The principal of the local elementary school, Garland Thayer, and a country store owner and his school teacher wife, Fount and Thelma Henderson, started the club to provide education, recreation, and day care for Hayter's Gap residents. By December of 1964, the Hayter's Gap Community Club had been re-named the Progressive Community Club and was chartered as one of the nation's first community action agencies, designed to serve low income people throughout Washington County and the neighboring city of Bristol.
Several programs are available in adjoining counties and cities as well.