Last week, the Impact Project finished the handicap ramp in Coventry, marking their 208th project since inception. Curtis Lumber Manager Bill Cairns, Diehl Handyman Services Owner and Impact Project Board Member Preston Diehl, Impact Project Secretary and Co-Director Wendy Young, Trojan House Deli and Catering Owner Chris Callahan, Homeowner Mary Strong and her son Jamie Burkhardt, Impact Project Executive Director Jim Willard III, and Impact Project Administrative Assistant Jessica Kehl were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Photo by Kelli Miller)

COVENTRY — The Impact Project, based in Greene, is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving Chenango County and surrounding areas by providing home renovation assistance, financing, and construction.

For 32 years, Jamie Burkhardt has had muscular dystrophy and has mostly watched the world go around from a window. But now, thanks to the Impact Project, he will be going around, inside and outside his home, creating his own spin.

Jamie's mom, Mary Strong, searched many avenues for help, but it wasn't until she came back home to New York where she found it.

"After hearing about the The Impact Project from a friend, I applied for the wheelchair ramp, hoping to enable my son Jamie to have some freedom, where there has been very little,” Strong said.

“I spoke with Valerie at the Impact Project and reviewed my application with her,” she continued. “She was so amazing, so helpful.”

Strong said her son Jamie is 32 years old and has always needed a ramp. He has muscular dystrophy, which makes it difficult for him to get up and down stairs or walk where the ground is bumpy.

“We recently moved back to New York from Virginia and made an appointment with the Muscular Dystrophy Association,” said Strong. “Jamie had a power chair before, but it broke down, so we went in to fit him for a new one.”