Airstream partners to build Habitat for Humanity home

Airstream and Habitat for Humanity are partnering to build a new home for Kara Mullen and her family in Jackson Center, the home of the Shelby County manufacturer.

Airstream is sponsoring the build by paying for materials and providing labor to help complete the home by August.

“Airstream is proud to be involved with this upcoming build in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the village of Jackson Center,” said Airstream President and CEO Bob Wheeler. “We have incredible associates who are willing to volunteer their time to support the community and provide a worthy family with a new home. We hope Airstream’s continued partnership will encourage other local businesses to join us in supporting this cause.”

Mullen, an administrative decretary for the Community Support Services department at the Shelby County Board of Developmental Disabilities, was selected by Habitat for Humanity of Miami and Shelby Counties following a rigorous vetting process. Once complete, the four-bedroom home in Jackson Center will be home to Mullen and her three children – Jaden, Delaney and Sailor.

“Being a homeowner is a dream come true for my family,” Mullen. said. “This will offer us stability and a ‘home base’ that we can feel safe in and make memories in together. Habitat, with Airstream’s generous support, has given me an entirely new outlook on life. I’m so amazed by their ability to create opportunities to give back and bring entire communities together.”

Habitat is able to make homeownership affordable by offering 20-year mortgage loans with flexible terms and zero-interest or zero-equivalent, to low-to-moderate families. Monthly payments are “recycled” back into the affiliate, which helps support the long-term sustainability of Habitat’s programs

“We are thrilled to partner with Airstream, a company with a huge footprint in the county employing nearly 800 local workers,” said William Horstman, executive director at Habitat for Humanity of Miami and Shelby Counties, Ohio. “This is a prime example of how our mission of building homes benefits members of the local community and can truly affect lives.”

Elkhart, Ind.-based Thor Industries makes Airstream trailers in Shelby County’s Jackson Center.

Airstream was founded in the U.S. by Wally Byam in the 1920s.

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