After the development of a new website and mobile application, people can now keep track of their appointments and more at no cost. (Photo by Zachary Meseck)

CHENANGO COUNTY - Greater Opportunities for Broome and Chenango Incorporated, previously known as Opportunities For Chenango (OFC) went through some major changes in 2020, most importantly their merger with the former Opportunities for Broome in July.

According to Greater Opportunities Deputy Director Kelly Robertson,

“The former OFB and OFC were both community action agencies, and merged into Greater Opportunities for Broome and Chenango Incorporated because we wanted to provide more comprehensive services to the people of both communities” said Robertson. “We wanted to make sure we were taking two strong agencies to make an even stronger one, and fortunately that’s what we did.”

Robertson said the merger has been in the works for approximately three years, and that the process was made even more difficult by the coronavirus.

“The merger was in the works far before COVID-19, and the fact that we were able to accomplish it even with COVID is great,” she said. “We were able to keep our services going during the pandemic by transitioning everything to a virtual format.”

“Unfortunately, we did have to temporarily close our Head Start Centers and Main Offices to the public for a period of time during the start of the pandemic, but we never closed for services as we were still able to provide services virtually. In May, we were able to re-open our offices to the public.”