Improve Norwich Now President Jen Westervelt and Vice President John Trottier after a board meeting, as part of their organization’s mission, both seek to help remove barriers and provide supports for the people of Chenango County. (Submitted photo)

CHENANGO COUNTY – Improve Norwich Now (I.N.N.) continued to make progress towards bettering its community throughout its second year, with a long term housing initiative, a program to help foster families, an application to help businesses, and a goal of improving youth literacy.

According to Improve Norwich Now Co-Founder Jen Westervelt, the organization has made some significant strides despite the pandemic, and its major programs have seen great success.

Improve Norwich Now is a nonprofit with a mission to remove barriers and provide supports so that all people living in Chenango County can reach their full potential.

Westervelt said one way the organization worked hard during 2020 to help families throughout Chenango County is with its Fostering Futures program.

Fostering Futures

Fostering Futures NY Chenango County (FFNYCC) Director Cathleen Albrecht said the program’s goal is to improve outcomes for children in the foster care system who have experienced trauma by providing practical supports to foster families so they are able to provide a safe, stable, nurturing and enriched environment along with connections to the community.

She said as part of her duties she recruits, trains, coordinates and supervises volunteer teams that go into the foster homes in a supportive and encouraging way. While the coronavirus has made it somewhat difficult to recruit and sustain new volunteers, the current teams are doing well and still actively working with their communities.

“Our Fostering Futures initiative was created at the start of 2020, and at that time we had a single referral from the Chenango County Department of Social Services,” said Albrecht. “At that time we had a goal of creating five teams by the end of the year, and we managed to reach six teams.”

“I think one of the reasons Fostering Futures has done so well is we have many community members who really want to make a difference, but they need a solid tangible opportunity to put their heart at work – Fostering Futures is one of those opportunities.”

Albrecht said volunteers meet with foster families monthly to help determine what it is that the families need and how the volunteers can provide it. She said some volunteers provide a meal, others help with homework, and some play board games with the kids to give the parents a break.

“With a minimal expectation of just one interaction per month, it’s a very reasonable expectation and it makes a huge difference for the families involved,” she added. “The foster parents are actively involved, because here’s the thing, we as volunteers don’t dictate what the program involves, we ask the foster parents how can we help you and we make it work around that.”

“We’re really happy with the progress of that program, and we look forward to helping more families in 2021.”

Albrecht said anyone who would like to support Fostering Futures can help support a local business at the same time with a giveback night scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday February 15 at Gilligan’s in Sherburne.

Albrecht added that as the FFNYCC program grew, other members of I.N.N. were also working towards alleviating the issue of housing in Chenango County.

Housing Initiative

Improve Norwich Now Vice President John Trottier has been leading the organization’s housing initiative, which was made possible thanks to a partnership with the Norwich Building Tomorrow Foundation.

“The housing initiative is a really exciting opportunity because here we have a home that was a City of Norwich tax sale property that was very dilapidated, and we were able to begin the facilitation of a complete renovation of this home,” said Trottier. “We are doing quality work so that this home can be something that will be a blessing to whichever family buys it.”

“The profit from the sale of the home will fund programs like Fostering Futures and other Improve Norwich Now projects, and we are pleased to be able to hire local contractors and engage volunteer community members to make this renovation a reality.”

Trottier projected that the house will be finished and sold by the end of this year, and said I.N.N. really appreciates the extensive community support that it has received for the project.

“We’ve even had someone who spent time in the home as a child who has reached and said they are excited to volunteer for that project in the near future,” he added.

Give Have Need

The goal of Give Have Need was to maintain a simple way for businesses to maintain cash flow and break into the digital marketplace, especially during times where businesses are dealing with reduced business as a result of the pandemic.

Improve Norwich Now board member Eric Wich said people can browse local businesses by category, set their desired gift card amount, and add it to their cart. All proceeds go straight to your chosen businesses, minus a dollar processing fee.

“I spearheaded the effort with Metis Consulting and was supported by other board members in Give Have Need’s creation and implementation,” she said. “We have 17 businesses signed up, and we are able to support more than $1,000 worth of transactions.”

“At this point there is a website domain, a Facebook page, and a ready to use system.”

He added that while the program has done well and is fully operational, Improve Norwich Now is hoping to collaborate with another organization that could use it to help even more businesses.

“We are prepared to hand over this valuable tool to another community entity who can support it long term,” said Wich. “While there is no financial overhead for this program, there is a record keeping system that has to be maintained, and our current Improve Norwich Now team is unable to maintain the commitment.”

“We recognize that there may be another entity out there who would be able to take this program and offer it on a wider level to benefit even more businesses and community members.”

Another initiative spearheaded by I.N.N. is called the Reading Reef, which is a small area at the Norwich Family YMCA previously called the “Book Nook.”

The Reading Reef

“Literacy has been an integral part of INN since the beginning, and our literacy team was happy to partner with Girl Scout Troop 30182 and their leader Melissa Conant to help make it happen,” Westervelt said. “Unfortunately due to the coronavirus we weren’t able to host another One Community One Book event, but we wanted to make sure we were still doing things to help encourage child literacy.”

“The Reading Reef is an under the sea themed section under the main staircase at the Norwich YMCA which includes books, games, and a mural.”

She said the girl scout troop was responsible for creating the space, and the project also was supported by Curtis Lumber, Lowes, Walmart, and Catalog Outlet Stores through product donations. She added that the literacy team is looking forward to hosting another One Community One Book event in the future, it’s a great way to engage the community in promoting literacy and increasing exposure to all that our small businesses have to offer.

Aunt Mary’s House

Aunt Mary’s House is an initiative whose goal is to be a safe haven for pregnant and parenting young mothers, and to allow them to gain opportunities, resources and knowledge toward becoming self-sufficient.

Westervelt said Aunt Mary’s House started off as an I.N.N. initiative that grew into its own entity. She said the organization has involvement from a variety of sectors within Chenango County that ranges from Liberty Resources to SUNY Morrisville, local churches, a local attorney, community members and more.

“Aunt Mary’s house was something that was sparked in connection with the INN housing initiative, and has become an independent endeavor,” she said. “Currently we’re operating as a pass through organization, and we’re incredibly proud of the progress they’ve made.”

She added that as I.N.N. grows within the Chenango County community it’s encouraging to see people walking around wearing I.N.N. t-shirts along with lawn signs throughout different communities.

“INN is always ready to welcome new volunteers to the team; if any of these initiatives interest you please reach out to us,” said Westervelt. “Together, we will Improve Norwich Now.”

Anyone interested in learning more about Improve Norwich Now may visit its facebook page, or visit their website at https://improvenorwichnow.org/ for additional information.

Donations can be made directly at https://my.simplegive.com/app/giving/Impr9999718 and lawn sign purchases are available there as well.