PPG Completes COLORFUL COMMUNITIES Project at St. Margaret Shelter in Brno, Czechia

PPG announced the completion of a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project in Brno, Czechia, that helped revitalize the St. Margaret Shelter for women with children. The project brought together nearly 50 PPG volunteers, who spent more than three months beautifying rooms, corridors and railings across five floors of the building.

PPG funded the facility’s $32,000 (765,000 Czech crowns) renovation, which used more than 100 gallons (400 liters) of PRIMALEX™ Ceramic paint by PPG.

The Colorful Communities program provides PPG volunteers and products along with financial contributions to bring color and vitality to communities where the company operates around the world, such as in Brno, where PPG has a shared services center with approximately 500 employees.

The PPG volunteers painted the building’s walls and ceilings using 11 of the 23 available shades of Primalex Ceramic paint, with two complementary shades chosen for each of the five floors. The shades are inspired by the rare minerals after which they are named, such as Czech Crystal and Slovak Opal. To engage the children living at the shelter, the volunteers also created playful murals that were designed by PPG employee Vivien Lattenberg for the garden, gym and common room. 

Professional painters contracted by PPG scraped old layers of paint, repaired the walls, applied the primer coat and assisted the volunteers in painting the ceilings.

Part of the Brno Diocesan Charity, the St. Margaret Shelter provides accommodations for women with children for up to one year while also helping them with material support, negotiations with the authorities, job searches and school preparation for the children.

“PPG employees helped us give local mothers the nicest Mother’s Day gift by renovating this home that provides shelter for mothers in need and their children,” said Monika Žewucká, head of St. Margaret Shelter. “New paint has enlightened every part of the building, and the walls in the hallways, gym and garden are finally starting to come alive.” 

“We had to repair and repaint the building’s corridors completely to improve conditions for local mothers and their children,” explained Jiří Pospíšil, PPG technical and sales representative, Architectural Coatings. “Once again, my colleagues made me proud after seeing how they managed to transform the shelter into a fresh and colorful place.”