SCHUYLERVILLE — The new executive director of Rebuilding Together Saratoga County is no stranger to the organization.

Michelle Larkin launched the idea for a local version of the national organization after seeing Rebuilding Together in action in other cities.

Larkin, of Saratoga, volunteered for several years as a chaperone for her church youth group on mission trips to Washington, D.C. And she wondered why there wasn’t an organization in Saratoga County to help elderly people with little money stay in their homes by providing free maintenance.

So in 2003 she sought interested friends and family to help start an organization.

“The community has just embraced this,” Larkin said. “They want to be a part of it. They want to pound the nails too. It just progressively has gotten bigger and bigger.”

The local offshoot is now 4 years old and has grown from doing five projects with 100 volunteers in its first year to 47 projects and more than 600 volunteers last year.

In all, 165 people have been helped in 99 projects that volunteers undertook.

So when it was time to hire an executive director, Larkin seemed the logical choice.

“It is my firm belief that her passion is what has driven Rebuilding Together Saratoga County to achieve its extraordinary accomplishments in the past four years of its existence,” said Kathleen Stanko, one of the board’s founding members.

Before Larkin was on the payroll, the organization’s only paid staffer was Miriam Bigelow, another founding member who works part time in the Schuylerville office.

While some organizations that focus on affordable housing try to obtain housing for those in need, Rebuilding Together helps people who have housing keep it. It is the largest volunteer organization devoted to helping seniors, the poor and disabled with affordable housing.

Volunteers with the organization have installed roofs, flooring, plumbing, done electrical work and installed modifications to help people with limited mobility get around their home.

“We’re helping people be able to stay in their home,” Larkin said. “If they can’t afford to fix something that’s gone wrong in their home, they certainly can’t go out and buy a new one.”

The organization also partners with other nonprofit groups and does free work at their buildings, she said.

Spring projects are planned for the last two weekends in April and the first weekend in May, Larkin said. In the fall, work will take place in October.

To volunteer or request that work be done at your house, call 695-3315 or visit rebuildingtogethersaratoga.com.

Larkin has no formal background in running nonprofit organizations. She works as the arts and education coordinator for Schuylerville schools and she and her husband, Dan, have two teenage children.

Larkin has been amazed at the efforts of volunteers, including some young ones who volunteer regularly. “They’re starting the tradition for themselves of making sure they’re involved in that capacity. I think that’s very cool.”

Rebuilding Together Saratoga County’s board of directors also elected a new president for this year. Jeff Taylor, operations team manager for State Farm Insurance’s Ballston Spa office, started as a worksite volunteer in 2004 and joined the board later that year. He lives in Wilton.

Lee Ecker of Wilton is the board’s new vice president. He is a partner with Clough Harbour & Associates.

Colin Combs and Casey Rosen were re-elected to their officer posts as treasurer and secretary, respectively.