By Kim Novosad

October 28, 2003 -- Using the adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" to remind homeowners to pay attention to their home maintenance needs, Sears continued its partnership with the NeighborWorks^® network through the fall of 2003.

A $1.3-million, two-year Sears'alliance with 12 NeighborWorks sites funds postpurchase training programs and the development of a national curriculum. Part of the program will provide up to 2,000 gift cards for graduates of the groups'postpurchase training.

The 12 sites include Colorado Rural Housing Development Corp., CDC of Long Island, Fifth Ward CRC, Gwinnett Resource Housing Partnership, Los Angeles NHS, NHS of Chicago, NHS of New York City, Northside NHS, Nuestra Comunidad, Philadelphia NHS, St. Petersburg NHS, and San Antonio NHS.

The focus on home maintenance also highlights Sears Product Repair Services and Sears Home Improvement Professional Services, provides opportunities for residents to outfit their homes, and for neighborhoods to receive a fresh look.

Sears'free home maintenance assessments on selected blocks in 10 markets reinforce a message many NeighborWorks organizations share with their home-ownership program participants: Take care of regular home maintenance and budget for home maintenance costs, or small problems could become big, expensive ones.

NeighborWorks organizations gave out Sears gift cards, ranging from $100 to $1,000 a resident, helped families cover some of the expenses associated with keeping a home, and provided new appliances, much-needed housewares, or even new school clothes for the fall. And Sears provided volunteers and supplies for some neighborhood improvement activities like painting and landscaping.

Sears Projects in Select Cities

In Miami, Sears associates painted eight homes in conjunction with Miami-Dade Neighborhood Housing Services' National NeighborWorks Week activities.

Twenty two Oakland homeowners received Sears'home maintenance assessments through The Unity Council. One Oakland family who, since purchasing its home has worked tirelessly to get it into livable condition, received brand new windows (a more than $15,000 value) through the Sears American Dream Campaign.

Sears'volunteers in Philadelphia were so excited to partner with Philadelphia Neighborhood Housing Services (PNHS) that they didn’t wait for the "official" campaign hands-on event, a landscaping project for the sponsored Sears block. Instead, they helped paint houses as a part of another PHNS project in July.

Near Atlanta, Gwinnett Housing Resource Partnership paved the way for Sears home maintenance assessments for 14 families.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago brought Sears'attention to an Auburn Gresham block where residents worked hard to recover from a devastating explosion that created quite an eyesore and almost destroyed one woman’s home. Now, with Sears'and NHS’s help, porches and trim have been painted, the block has been cleaned up, and many residents have received gift cards, and/or new smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, and fire extinguishers.

Lott Street residents in East Flatbush, New York, helped Sears come up with a plan to turn a strip of property used by passersby as a dumping ground into a community garden. Sears leased the property to Neighborhood Housing Services of East Flatbush at no cost and paid for more than $30,000 in improvements to the property. Lott Street residents agreed to maintain and enjoy the beautiful park indefinitely.

A Forest Greenville groundbreaking event in Boston kicked off Nuestra Comunidad’s rehabilitation of five vacant buildings into single-family homes for low-income, first-time home buyers and Sears'arrival on the block to perform home maintenance assessments.

In Los Angeles, after a kick-off event featuring Councilman Bernard Parks and the "Sears American Dream Team," Lori Gay, executive director of Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services, expressed her pride in her team’s efforts: "What a crew! The residents loved it, and enjoyed touring the press and Sears team through their homes."

The Sears American Dream Campaign returns to Houston, with Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, and to New York, with NHS of East Flatbush, for an appearance with Bob Vila.

Kim Novosad (kimnovosad@msn.com) is a consultant based in North Carolina.

For more information on the Sears American Dream Campaign, visit www.nw.org/sears.

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