FRANKLIN, (AP) — Nissan Americas pledged $2.5 million to Habitat for Humanity to build greener and more sustainable homes across the U.S. and even in the automaker's backyard of Franklin.

The financial donation is the single biggest gift to Habitat that the automaker has ever made and the company annually donates $1 million to the organization to build homes for families in need.

Since 2006, more than 30 Habitat homes have been built nationwide by Nissan employees.

Because of Nissan's donation, crews and volunteers on Thursday are getting started on building a home for Franklin resident Brandi Johnson, a certified nurse's technician and mother of two. Johnson told The Tennessean that the organization is giving her family a home and a place for her sons to play outside (http://bit.ly/r9XuVr ).