Rain or shine, staff and volunteers of Habitat of Greater Newburgh joined for the 24th annual Walk For Housing in the City of Newburgh. The event welcomed over 200 attendants over the course of the afternoon and with donations awaiting final numbers, the collected amount so far had been over $24,000.

The first Habitat Walk For Housing took place in 1999, and the annual walk event has been a day set aside for the community to join together and view both completed houses and works in progress of Habitat in the city. “It’s just great to see the support within the community, outside of the community, bring awareness to the need for affordable homeownership and how important that is. We always love the support from everyone that comes to these,” said Nick Esposito, 1st Vice President of the Habitat Newburgh board. “COVID really shined a light on the need for affordable homeownership. The reason that I do this work is because of how important again, the equity of homeownership is.”

The event also serves as a fundraising opportunity for Habitat and allows new visitors to learn more about the work that they do through informational materials and conversations with volunteers.

People gathered at Washington’s Headquarters Park [84 Liberty Street] around noon to begin their registration process for the walk and took in the sights of the Hudson River as they waited for the event to start. To begin the event proceedings, Habitat Executive Director Jill Marie welcomed the crowd at Washington’s Headquarters Park for their walk. A presentation of the colors and singing of the national anthem by Sgt. Major MaryKay Messenger followed. After doing several stretches to get warmed for the three mile walk, participants made their way out the Washington Headquarters’s gate and began down Liberty Street where houses along the path were decorated celebrating another successful walk.

“This organization [Habitat Newburgh] has some wonderful volunteers, as well as people from the community and the neighborhood. I’ve seen it grow from 100, 150, 200, you know, even 300 [people] sometimes, so it’s a wonderful feeling,” said Milagros Montijo-Flores, Family Services Manager. “We need more organizations that are consciously aware, and working towards housing for everyone. We’re not just building houses, we are building communities and we’re building hope.”

Habitat Newburgh was first established in the summer of 1999 by Bill Murphy, David Wager and Al Favata. Over the past 24 years, Habitat Newburgh has constructed over 100 houses in the city. During the previous year, Habitat Newburgh was selected as one of the Habitat affiliates that received a $2 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s pledged $436 million. Habitat Newburgh also recently completed their Framing Frenzy event, which brought volunteers together to build frames for four future homes on South Street.

“I think it’s important for people to get involved. I think that Habitat is a fantastic organization in terms of making a very positive impact on neighborhoods and beyond that, cities and counties,” said Orange County Legislator Barry Cheney. “Come out and volunteer, volunteer to build a wall, volunteer to walk, volunteer just a few minutes to sit here and register people. That’s the best thing you can do,” said Assemblyman Chris Eachus.

More information on Habitat of Greater Newburgh can be found by visiting habitatnewburgh.org or calling (845) 568-6035. The main office of Habitat Newburgh is located at 125 Washington Street, Newburgh, NY 12550.