From community centers to nursing homes, the COLORFUL COMMUNITES® program offers PPG employee volunteers the opportunity to identify local spaces in need of a bright and beautiful refresh. In addition to the 27 school projects that were completed and highlighted over the past several months through New Paint for a New Start, additional projects took place at other types of locations around the world.
COLORFUL COMMUNITIES projects transform areas of inspiration
“Turning blank walls into colorful sources of inspiration and joy can make a tremendous difference in the lives of others,” said Malesia Dunn, executive director, PPG Foundation and corporate global social responsibility. “The potential our volunteers have to impact spaces that are critical in the health and happiness of others is quite powerful.”
Read on to learn more about the transformative impacts of recent Colorful Communities projects.
United States and Canada
In Strongsville, Ohio, employees from the Strongsville plant revitalized the great hall, walls and floor of the Sensory Cabin at Camp Cheerful. The camp provides children and adults with physical, developmental and sensory disabilities with an environment to enjoy camp activities in a barrier-free environment.
Volunteers from the Greensboro, North Carolina Traffic Solutions plant painted the Craft Recreation Center, a site for community gatherings that was in great need of repair. Revitalizing the facility, energizing the staff and motivating the children and adults who visit the site, volunteers painted various spaces including meeting rooms, offices, the kitchen space, hallways and part of the gym.
As part of the annual United Way of Western Pennsylvania Day of Caring, PPG employees in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, painted murals and an event space at Global Links; hallways murals and foster care visiting rooms at Auberle; and an arts and crafts room, computer lab, and hallway at the Millvale Boys & Girls Club.
Meanwhile, members of the Asian Employee Network painted four murals including messages related to continuing education and welcoming immigrants and refugees at the Literacy Pittsburgh office.
Asia Pacific
The Nhon Ly fishing village within the Hoai Nhon commune in Vietnam’s Binh Dinh province welcomed 120 PPG employee and community volunteers who created a vivid mural that depicts environmental themes such as emission reduction and marine ecosystem protection through perspectives and images of those who live in the village. Volunteers also presented donations to the community and organized a cross-country running tournament to promote healthcare with residents.
Meanwhile in Singapore, a Colorful Communities project was completed with the Orange Valley Nursing Home at Changi, a residential care facility providing quality eldercare services to the community. As part of this project, the PPG team took on the task of revitalizing the pantry area for the residents. A mural featuring a vibrant floral theme and cheerful picnic scene was created to brighten up the space where residents enjoy their meals and to spark conversations while creating an atmosphere of joy and connection.
EMEA
In Marly, France, 60 volunteers refurbished Maison de l’Enfance et de la Famille (MEF) in Condé sur Escaut, which provides a home to kids aged seven to 17 who are in a situation of insecurity, disability or vulnerability. Thanks to the work done over three volunteering days, kids can now admire six different murals by the artist Bertrand Parse and enjoy colorful interior spaces painted with a sustainably-advantaged product from the SEIGNEURIE™ by PPG portfolio, including Evolutex Bas Carbone. Check out video here.
The Architectural Coatings business in Bochum, Germany partnered with Die Falken Bochum, a non-profit children's and youth association, for a project where 40+ employee volunteers transformed and revitalized the Am Hausacker leisure facility. The renovation included six small wooden huts ("Stugas"), available for associations and initiatives to use for their activities. Check out video here.
In Kalisz, Poland volunteers painted stairs, handrails, radiator covers and much more of the Dom Dziecka children's orphanage. They also created a mural in newly renovated gym. Here, children play volleyball, basketball and ping-pong while the facility creates a safe and colorful place.
At Domovinka, a non-profit organization that cares for elderly residents in Pilsen, Czechia, received a colorful transformation as PPG employee volunteers restored the interior and exterior of the facility and created a lively mural.
Gladsaxe Musik og Billedskole, a Soborg, Denmark-based educational organization that provides music and visual arts education, received a colorful makeover. PPG employee volunteers together FGU Nord students transformed white walls to colorful canvases of inspiration. Located nearby PPG’s manufacturing facility in Denmark, FGU Nord provides preparatory education for young people under 25 in need of skills to transition to further education or the workforce.
Learn more about how PPG volunteers protect and beautify our communities here.