Free Home Maintenance Assessments Help Southside Residents Prepare Homes For Fall

Sears Gives Home Maintenance Tips to Area Homeowners to Help Preserve Their

                              American Dream

  PROBLEM:  It is not uncommon for homeowners to overlook planning or
            budgeting for their home maintenance repairs and costs.  For
            many families, that lack of budgeting can translate into a real
            financial challenge when something breaks - such as a hot water
            heater or other appliance.

  SOLUTION: The Sears American Dream Campaign has teamed up with
            Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, a NeighborWorks
            organization, to provide free home assessments to homeowners on
            Parnell Street in the Auburn Gresham/Englewood neighborhood.
            Through in-home education, these homeowners will learn how to
            look for, and thereby be prepared for, repairs that without such
            preparation could make it financially difficult to make
            necessary repairs to their home.

  HOW:      September 9 through 11, Sears repair and maintenance technicians
            will visit owner-occupied homes on the block to conduct free
            assessments.  The technicians will show the homeowners the
            particular trouble zones within their homes.  Among the areas of
            the home to be assessed will be heating and cooling systems,
            appliances, plumbing and electrical systems, windows and siding.
            Following the assessments, homeowners will receive $1,000 worth
            of products and/or services from Sears to help them outfit and
            maintain their homes and families.

  WHY:      To educate Americans about the benefits of effectively
            maintaining their homes and thereby avoid unexpected financial
            burdens, the Sears American Dream Campaign free home assessments
            program will assist more than 200 families across the country
            this year.  The Sears American Dream Campaign is a $100 million
            community commitment to help millions of Americans outfit and
            maintain their homes and families.

  WHERE:    The 7500 block of South Parnell

  MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: SEPTEMBER 9-11
  -- Tour the house:  follow Sears experts as they conduct assessments and
     show viewers what to look for when maintaining their homes
  -- Interview assessors:  about home maintenance tips for viewers
  -- Interview the families: discuss their challenges, past and present, as
     they seek to hold onto the American Dream of home ownership
  -- Interview Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago: in studio, at their
     centers, or on the block to discuss the services Neighborhood Housing
     Services offers, the importance of stabilizing communities through
     sustained home ownership

  CONTACT:
  Linda Blakley, Sears
  (847) 286-8862
  CELL (312) 206-6842
  Mary Fran Riley, NHS
  (773) 329-4129
  CELL: (773) 858-5677

PRNewswire -- Sept. 8

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Web site: http://www.sears.com/