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CORRECTION: TO CONTACT REBUILDING TOGETHER SARATOGA COUNTY, CALL 518 -587 -3315.

Rebuilding Together Helping Elderly, Low-Income Families Repair Their Homes

By Colette Linton 

SARATOGA SPRINGS— Linda Kahn, whose welcoming personality is as warm and welcoming as her home in Saratoga Springs, turns 90 years young next month in a house that she’s lived in for 57 years.

She boasts its three rooms saying that they are “for when the kids come over to visit” which they will be soon to celebrate her birthday.

Also, after a volunteer crew with Rebuilding Together Saratoga installed a new bathroom, repaired the circuit breaker and electric wiring in her home, installed hand rails in the bathroom and going down the stairs leading into the basement, she is now prouder than ever of what the community is able to do.

“In the kitchen, I couldn’t use the microwave and the toaster oven at the same time. I’d blow a fuse,” Kahn said. “When we bought the house it was like a shell. It had wood floors that were rotted. It had nothing.”

Kahn sent an application to Rebuilding Together of Saratoga County after she heard from someone else of the quality of the home repairs and installations they complete.

Soon she saw the group’s workmanship for herself.

“I had a doctor’s appointment first thing in the morning, and I came home and there were dozens, at least 20 (volunteers),” she said. “It was fantastic. Off and on they would (be here) because these were volunteers, professional, unbelievable people. I didn’t even have to hang around for them. It was that kind of honest, nice caliber.”

Since then she’s helped to persuade others to consider applying.

The assistance Rebuilding Together provides helps to maintain a safe and comfortable atmosphere for its applicants. In this way, it may even help the elderly stay in their homes longer.

 “That’s a lot of the work that we are doing now is helping elderly folks with their home repairs to keep them safe in their homes,” said Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Saratoga Michelle Larkin. “I’d like to say to people as an elderly person that I’m sure that throughout your life you’ve helped plenty of people; so, now is an opportunity for the community to help you.”

Sometimes the elderly may be a little more hesitant to reach out to an organization such as Rebuilding Together, Larkin said. 

“Maybe they’re very independent. They’re used to taking care of themselves and the struggle is that they want to stay in their home but they just need an ADA toilet,” Larkin said. “That may be something where we could be really helpful so that they can stay in their home.”

Rebuilding Together is nearly limitless in the ways in which its hired contractors and volunteers can assist a home owner at no charge to them. When an application is submitted, Rebuilding Together previews the applicant’s house to observe and make suggestions about where repairs can be made.

“Maybe they need a voluntary OT (occupational therapist) to go out and look at their home and make some suggestions,” Larkin said. “Maybe we could move some furniture. Are there trip hazards? Do they need a ramp? Do they need a low-threshold shower unit?”

“There are all kinds of things that could be looked at in the environment,” she said.

Since the renovations were completed at her home, Kahn has found even more reasons to be proud of her home and community.

“Oh definitely,” she said about the improvements and her increased independence. “I needed the high-rise toilets and the grab bars. I feel very secure there.”

“It’s a warm community,” she said. “There are so many lovely people who are caring and giving of themselves.”

Last year, Rebuilding Together completed 90 sites, or 80 homes and 10 nonprofit facilities. They had a total of 1004 volunteers, who worked a total of 5,592 hours. Since its inception in 2003, they have completed 559 projects and served 1026 people.

This year’s spring workdays for volunteers are approaching quickly and are scheduled for April 26 and 27, May 3 and 4, and May 10. For individuals interested in contributing, but are unable to volunteer this season, there is option of being the ‘pizza patron’. The pizza patron becomes the darling of the day by providing lunch for a volunteer crew for $25.

Interested persons can email or call the office if interested in volunteering. For individuals interested in receiving assistance, or know someone who may want some help, email the office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or call Rebuilding Together Saratoga County at 518-581-3315 to begin the application process.

Rebuilding Together requires that applicants prove household income and that the applicant lives in Saratoga County. All applicants are previewed within a couple of months. Projects that are accepted are generally started within a year of the application.

Centennial to Kickoff Mayor’s Focus on Health

SARATOGA SPRINGS— Planning for the 100^th anniversary of Saratoga Springs’ incorporation as a city, is underway.

The centennial celebration is to highlight the city's heritage, much of which had started taking shape when the city was still a village. Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen has appointed a centennial committee to highlight the milestones as well as the current accomplishments of the city, and to hallmark the city’s headline monikers: health, history and horses. The arts and education will also get its share as a mainstay of the city’s identity and represented on the board, with Skidmore College President Philip Glotzbach sitting in for education.

Everybody that will be coming together to serve on the committee will focus on a different aspect of the celebration, whether it’s Field Horne, a local historian with a book release scheduled during the centennial year (history), or Susan Halstead, owner of Family Vision Care Center and chair of the Saratoga County Chamber’s Health and Wellness council (health).

The committee’s honorary chairs are philanthropists and socialites Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson in light of their enthusiasm for the city itself, Yepsen said.

“They will be wonderful leaders and assets to the celebration,” Yepsen said. “They were excited when I called them to ask if they would do this because they just love Saratoga Springs so much.”

Whitney and Hendrickson already have some “special ways to celebrate the city”, she said.

Attorney at Law Eleanor Mullaney and Steve Sullivan, who was previously a strategic advisor for the New York State Restaurant Association, will act as the planning committee’s co-chairs for the centennial. 

There have already been many people and a lot of different organizations that have plans in motion for Saratoga Springs’ centennial. “It’ll be a matter of collaborating and coordinating ideas and activities and making sure that we touch on different aspects,” Yepsen said.

Looking ahead, of health, history and horses, Yepsen said that she is thinking of concentrating on the health and wellness aspect of Saratoga Springs to not only compliment the already growing interest in this area, but also to use the centennial as an event to further renew a focus on health.

What once revolved around the springs, health as a focal point has been gaining energy as organizations and businesses are finding new ways to channel interest.

“This health and wellness issue is bubbling up all around me and this is how things work in Saratoga Springs: they happen organically,” Yepsen said. “I think we can really focus on Saratoga Springs in the future as a healthy community and looking for the centennial to be the kickoff for that.”

Halstead echoed Yepsen in a separate interview that the city has a lot of organizations and plans to help promote the city as one of the healthiest in the country.

“I can’t believe what the county has already accomplished. We started making a list of what we already have, and what we need,” Halstead said. “Saratoga County is just packed with healthy stuff already.”

In retrospect of the changes that have taken place to make Saratoga Springs the city it is today, Deputy Mayor Joe Ogden commented: “The individuals that built the public and private sector have done a good job of keeping the soul of the city”.

Custom Clothier Helps Men Build Their Look

By Colette Linton

SARATOGA SPRINGS—Clothes shopping is more complicated than the conventional retail store lets on. The reality is, is that the range of body types isn’t so easily categorized into small, medium and large and preferences for patterns, colors and comforts are not to be taken for granted.

Dress clothes for work and professional flair are another make and model too, tending to be on the more expensive side and more difficult to fudge the shortcomings of the seams without making the additional trip to a tailor.

“For me and my height, it’s either the clothes are too short and I have to wear them low around the waist,” said Dr. Marc Johnson, a dentist in Saratoga Springs . “Or the sleeves are too short, and so I buy my shirts big.”

Aimee Taylor, clothier and stylist, brings to Saratoga Springs the J. Hillburn brand, a fast growing luxury men’s clothing company.  She met with Dr. Johnson to build an order that would suit him with a measure-made product to reflect his tastes, lifestyle and his comfort needs.

“It’s frustrating because instead of buying what you like, you buy what fits,” Dr. Johnson said about his typical shopping experience. “In men’s clothing, we don’t have a lot of fun options: it’s usually blue suit, (and) white shirt.”

“As for dress shirts, yeah, I can find something that fits me, but something that’s tailor-made with colors isn’t going to happen,” he said. “So, it’s (building an order) opened up a lot more options for me.”

When Taylor meets with a potential customer for a consultation, she brings more than just her background in the fashion industry, she comes with swatch samples of the real make of the fabric, ready to take measurements and to discuss all the details of the first fitted shirt, which can be personalized with details including (and not limited to) collar, cuffs, pockets, pleats, patterns, color, stitch (color and type), shirt, suit, jacket and or trousers.

“It appeals to me that the styles and fashions are unique and that the patterns and fabrics are kinds that you can’t get off the shelf,” Dr. Johnson said. “Also, it’s that I can get clothes that fit me and my body instead of getting something and trying to make it fit.”

“There are a lot of men that are not ‘off-the-rack sizes',” Taylor said. “Men, just like women, come in all shapes and sizes and ‘off-the-rack’ just doesn’t necessarily work for everybody,” Taylor said.

Taylor grew up in the fashion industry with her grandfather and his siblings’ manufacturing plant. “As a child I have these fabulous memories of the cutting tables with fabric-layered ties and big patterns and them tracing it with the chalk,” she recalls. 

Since then, not the entrepreneurial fire nor the fixation on fabrics ever left her she said. After graduating with a marketing degree from Bentley College in Boston, one of her projects was starting several fabric businesses that were more related to women and building customized purses and pocket books.

“It’s kind of like I’ve already done this,” she said of her expertise in the field of fashion and her confidence in creating a fitting match for her customer.

“With a client, my goal is to help them develop a professional and a social wardrobe that fits their personal style,” she said. “When it’s made for you it’s a completely different feel than an ‘off-the-rack’ shirt and that’s really what the difference is.” 

J. Hilburn was founded in 2007 and its product categories include custom shirts, personalized suits and sport coats, made-to-measure trousers, and formalwear.

 The ready-to-wear line includes sweaters, polo shirts, outerwear, ties, pocket squares, cuff links, belts, socks and the list goes on.

The custom experience begins with a consultation, when Taylor learns of the client’s preference and takes measurements to help him build the first custom shirt.

That first shirt is selected from hundreds of high-end fabric choices. Once the client has been measured, he can continue to order his custom shirts through in-person meetings or he can build and re-order his shirts online. Custom shirts are delivered in three to four weeks and prices range from $99 to $160.

“So those are the basic choices, but again that’s what really makes it custom and really makes it yours and any shirt that is made to your measurements for you, is going to fit for you,” Taylor said. “And the better it fits, the better it’s going to feel, the more confident you are for the day.”

 Aimee Taylor can be reached at 518-859-7010 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..