My Nonprofit Reviews

I have taken care of my Aunt and Uncle and special-needs cousin since 2018. At that time my Uncle, 99, fell to the floor with pneumonia and my Aunt, 92, trying to lift him, cracked her pelvis. Both ended up incapacitated; Uncle Warren went to the hospital; he went from being able to walk and drive a car to confined to a wheel chair; Aunt Austra could no longer go grocery shopping or even get out of bed to go to the bathroom without severe pain. Their son, Cousin Kevin, 54, schizophrenic since age 18, was used to them driving him to doctor's appointments and grocery stores. Suddenly, the household came to an abrupt stop. No food in the kitchen. No bills being paid. No relatives or friends nearby. As one of their only retired relatives, I stepped in to help. I live in Oklahoma and they live in Schenectady, NY. You can imagine there were some challenges. One of the amazing things Austra said to me when I flew in to get things organized was "One thing you need to do is get a trash pick up service." - Uncle Warren had been driving all trash and recyclables to a pickup station every week - at age 99!

Umbrella has been instrumental in meeting one significant challenge: allowing all three of them to stay in their home. Umbrella assessed the home situation and recommended safety upgrades and maintenance at a very reasonable price. One of their employees has been able to take Kevin to get food and pick up medications whenever he needs. The head of Umbrella even came to the house to coach Austra, who was very hard of hearing, on how to use a tablet to communicate.

Certainly there were other challenges such as getting an in-home doctor and care givers to look after Warren and Austra. Warren made it to 102, passing in 2020. And Austra died at 97 last year, 2023. Kevin is still living in the family house, learning a few new skills (still doesn't drive, use a cell phone, or internet), and relying on Umbrella recently to fix a broken sliverware drawer and kitchen faucet.

I think Umbrella of the Capital District provides an outstanding service. The NY Capital District is lucky to have this organization. I don't know of any other area that has anything like this personal service.

Beth Rooney, Tulsa, Oklahoma

There are many things I like about Umbrella. They are definitely a small hands-on organization. You can reach out to them any time and even have a nice chat with their CEO and founder Ron Byrne. I am helping my Aunt and Uncle (until he passed in May at 102) and their mentally challenged son (my cousin) have as good a quality of life as they can by continuing to stay in their home of over 50 years. But I live in Oklahoma. So having a group like Umbrella in the Capital District is a godsend. Their free home inspections have revealed needed fixes that I didn't even know about such as a moss-covered roof. Then they have been great in finding their own people or contractors who can do the work. Kind of your own personal Angie's List only much better. My Aunt and cousin give high marks to the various Umbrella personnel who have come by to clean their gutters, fix their flagstones, or unclog their plumbing. Great job you've done, Ron, in setting up and running this organization. Every community should have one.