As a successful business owner in Southwest Florida, Jaime knows first-hand how much hard work goes into building and maintaining a business. She also knows that success is much more attainable with support from family and the community.
After becoming a single mom at 18, Jaime felt very fortunate to have plenty of support from her family, but she didn’t want to rely on them forever. She was 32 when she took over at Victory Layne Chevrolet and says, “it was hard being a single mom, raising a teenager, and running a business.” Plus, being a young woman in a male-dominated industry posed its own challenges. “I believed because I was younger and a woman, I would fail,” she says. Fortunately, Jaime had support from General Motors (GM) who’d created a community of female GM dealers for women in the industry.
Although Jaime learned a lot from her own personal experiences, she says it was her father who truly inspired her to give back to the community. “Prior to his passing in 2009, my dad was a supporter of Habitat and he liked what they stood for and how they helped the community,” Jaime says. “They help families in our own backyard.”
At Habitat, we build partnerships with our families. They work with us to build their homes before purchasing them with an affordable mortgage. We guide them through the process, provide them with a community of support and serve as a resource for them. Each family is required to complete 300 hours of sweat equity, pay $2,000 towards closing costs, and attend more than 20 hours of homeownership education prior to purchasing their home.
“There’s always someone or a family out there that needs help,” Jaime says. “When a successful business owner chooses to support local organizations like Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties, they’re helping families right here in Southwest Florida and contributing to a stronger local community.”
We’re so grateful for our partnership with Victory Layne Chevrolet. Over the last 7 years, they’ve sponsored 16 homes and donated a grand total of $1,138,750 to Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties. What an impact! Jaime’s generosity inspires us and serves our mission to build homes, communities, and hope.
