In November of 2020, The Impact Project helped Afton homeowner Roger E. Newbauer by providing him with a new roof, free of cost, after the previous 40-year-old roof started to leak. (Photo by Zachary Meseck)

2020 was a ground-breaking year for The Impact Project. With projects ranging from Earlville to Nineveh, more ground was covered in Chenango County this year than any other.

According to The Impact Project Executive Director, James Willard III, this year The Impact Project made great efforts to help even more families in Chenango County, reaching an all time high of 10 projects in the area.

Willard said with the help of more than 4,000 volunteers to date, generous support from local communities and the hard work and dedication of businesses including Blue Ox, Curtis Lumber, The Gutter Experts, Alpine Metal Roofing, and The Trojan House Deli and Catering, The Impact Project is focused on assisting as many people as it can.

“There are many components that have come together to create 2020 for us,” said Willard. “COVID-19 is terrible, but the systemic issues of poverty in Chenango County are also bad and have been greatly magnified by COVID-19.”

Willard said as his team has moved through Chenango County they have seen a decline in housing conditions and an increase in applications for assistance.

“The county looks a lot worse than it did even a year or two ago,” he said. “Last year we had received so many applications that we had to shut down operations to process them all, but this year we were prepared.”