Michigan Mother Achieves Home Ownership Dream Through Nissan-Sponsored Habitat for Humanity Home

PONTIAC, Mich. – Today, at a dedication ceremony conducted by Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County (Habitat Oakland), engineers from Nissan Technical Center North America presented the keys to the latest Nissan-sponsored and employee-built Habitat home to owner Capri Naylor. The ceremony in Pontiac included Nissan employees representing the 45 volunteers from the Farmington Hills-based Nissan facility who built the Naylors' new home this fall.

The home is the seventh Habitat house built by Nissan in Oakland County since 2006 and is ENERGY STAR certified, equipped with many "green-living" features.

"Nissan has a longstanding partnership with Habitat for Humanity, changing lives throughout the country. Our common bond comes from both parties' strong commitments to humanitarian and environmental efforts," said Carla Bailo, senior vice president, Research & Development, Nissan Americas. "I am proud that the efforts of our employees are helping someone who has spent so much of her life helping others."

Naylor is a single mother of four (two adult daughters and two young sons) and grandmother of two. She has worked in group homes caring for the disabled for more than 20 years.

She has overcome many obstacles in her life as she has moved her family around to escape an abusive relationship – leaving four homes and even turning to a shelter for housing. She was able to achieve some stability by renting a townhouse, but the neighborhood was riddled with crime and drugs. Gang members camped out in front of her house, and her home was caught in crossfire on occasion.

Becoming a homeowner is very important to Naylor because she wants to have a safe, secure and peaceful environment to raise her boys.

"Homeownership means a lot to me since I never thought I could buy a home on my own. This proves to my sons that hard work and perseverance can lead to great rewards, like owning a home," Naylor said. "I'm really fortunate and happy. I'm excited to decorate for the holidays. The first thing I'm going to do is put up a Christmas tree and decorate the outside of the house so my sons can get into the Christmas spirit."

The Naylors are among more than 158 families that have been sheltered by a newly built or renovated home by Habitat Oakland since 1996.

Tim Ruggles, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, said: "The strong partnership between Nissan and Habitat Oakland is what makes the dream of homeownership a reality for deserving families like the Naylors and many others throughout the years. Nissan has supported Habitat Oakland since 2006, and we commend them for their endless commitment to building communities in Oakland County."
Funding for Naylors' home is part of the $1.5 million donation to Habitat for Humanity International that Nissan announced in September 2012. In the Americas, Nissan is funding the construction of homes in Arizona, California, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Toronto, Canada. The company is funding grants and providing Nissan vehicles to 10 Habitat affiliates that make commitments to sustainable construction practices. Habitat is using a portion of Nissan's donation to conduct sustainability "summits" for Habitat affiliates and their local communities. Nissan funding also supported the annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Haiti. Five Nissan employees joined 500 international volunteers to help build 100 Habitat homes in partnership with Haitian families during the seven-day project that ended Dec. 1.

Nissan's partnership with Habitat dates to 2005, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Nissan donated 50 Nissan Titan trucks to assist Habitat's response efforts in the Gulf Coast and mobilized employees to assist in home building. Since 2006, Nissan employees have helped to build more than 40 homes across the United States and have logged more than 70,000 volunteer hours building Habitat homes around the world.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the Americas media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.

About Nissan
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 248,000 employees globally, Nissan provided customers with more than 4.8 million vehicles in 2011, generating revenue of 9.4 trillion yen ($118.95 billion US). With a strong commitment to developing exciting and innovative products for all, Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of 64 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. A pioneer in zero-emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades, including the prestigious 2011-2012 Car of the Year Japan and 2011 World Car of the Year awards.

For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

Blue Citizenship is the commitment of Nissan Motor Company to realize our vision of Enriching People's Lives. We commit to our customers, employees, shareholders and the communities where we do business to deliver engaging, valuable and sustainable mobility for all. Through our business activities, we aim to create economic value and to actively contribute toward the development of a sustainable society.

About Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County
Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County was founded in 1994 by a small group of volunteers who believed in the Habitat vision of a world where everyone has a decent, affordable place to live. Our founders had a simple goal – to find a way to build a house for a family that needed a home. After they built the first house, they built another and then another.

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Media Contact:
Brian Brockman
Nissan North America
248-488-4227
brian.brockman@nissan-usa.com