Summer in Saratoga Springs is a little different this year, but one thing remains the same: the ponies are running at the Historic Saratoga Race Track (albeit without racing fans in attendance).  And along with the horses, a small army of dedicated caretakers and their families spend July and August helping to make Saratoga “The Summer Place to Be”.  Many of these “backstretch families” stay in cabins at the Pine Grove Family Camp on Pine Road, on the city’s west side.  This year, the Race Track Chaplaincy of America – NY Division (RTCA), an organization which provides community programs and support for the backstretch families, wanted to improve the housing conditions for the families who stay at Pine Grove. As soon as we learned about RTCA’s plan, we couldn’t wait to hop in the starting gate and get involved.  Each participating organization was assigned one of the Pine Grove cabins, with the goal simply being to make each of these “homes away from home” pleasant, clean, safe and welcoming.  A group of Habitat volunteers collected items from our ReStore to freshen up Cabin 3 for the backstretch family staying there this summer.  Each cabin was stocked with donated goodies from Impressions of Saratoga, COVID-19 safety supplies from the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, and challah from Temple Sinai. Saratoga wouldn’t be the amazing city it is without the backstretch workers and all their behind-the-scenes hard work. Habitat was thrilled to participate in bettering the housing conditions for these families during their stay in Saratoga!