PPG Announces Four Colorful Communities Projects in Pittsburgh

As part of its global community engagement efforts, PPG has begun mobilizing volunteers for its COLORFUL COMMUNITIES program at four sites in Pittsburgh, in partnership with United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Colorful Communities initiative provides PPG volunteers and products along with financial contributions to bring color and vitality to communities where our company operates around the world. The program increases PPG’s commitment to invest in communities by adding $10 million to support efforts made during a 10-year period.

In addition to providing renovation assistance, PPG offered program grants of $10,000 for each Pittsburgh organization to enrich programming related to science, math and technology learning.

More than 60 Pittsburgh-area PPG employees will volunteer to paint and refurbish classrooms and corridors at four sites served by United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania:

•     YWCA Homewood-Brushton Child Development Center,
•     Propel Pitcairn charter school,
•     Jeron X. Grayson Community Center in the Hill District, and
•     Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania.

According to Sue Sloan, PPG executive director of corporate global social responsibility, “Each of these places is essential to young people, providing a setting where they can develop creativity, build self-esteem and learn responsibility.”

The Pittsburgh projects are among 30 planned around the world in 2016 as part of the company’s commitment to give back to communities where its employees live and work. Approximately $750,000 is budgeted for Colorful Communities projects this year, including $50,000 to refurbish and support the Pittsburgh sites.

“We’re excited to expand this initiative, which brings smiles to our employees and our neighbors. The main goal is to beautify the neighborhoods we call ‘home’ by investing in them, especially where the need is great,” Sloan said. “Additionally, the projects encourage volunteerism, which builds our employees’ morale and empowers them to create positive change in their communities. And because these Pittsburgh-area sites all offer after-school programs, we are acting on our priority of supporting educational efforts by giving young people brighter, more engaging environments in which to learn and grow.”

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania teamed with PPG on the Pittsburgh-area projects based on their long-standing relationship and because the Colorful Communities program fits the nonprofit organization’s goals of making communities better for everyone and addressing issues for people in need. The United Way funds programs at each of the four sites.

“Offering support to families and young people is a large part of what we do,” said United Way Chief Volunteer Engagement Officer Lois Mufuka Martin. “We know how volunteering benefits the people involved and their communities. For example, United Way’s Next Generation drive encourages millennials who want to make an impact by helping their neighbors. They know that community involvement leads to more fulfilling careers.”

Volunteers from PPG and representatives from each organization will make repairs and paint at the four project sites. The project schedule is as follows:

    Aug. 6 – YWCA Homewood-Brushton
    Aug. 9-10 – Propel Pitcairn
    Aug. 20 – Jeron X. Grayson Community Center
    Aug. 25 – Boys & Girls Club

Pittsburgh muralist Lynne Mack will work with several of the nonprofit organizations to create unique murals using brightly colored PPG PAINTS™ products.

“We work with recipient organizations to determine the best colors for their sites – we even offer PPG design experts’ services for color consultations,” Sloan said. “We estimate that among the four Pittsburgh-area sites, our volunteers will apply about 100 gallons of paint to coat more than 20,000 square feet of hallways, classrooms and programming space. It’s a lot of fun for everyone involved.”

Sloan said PPG plans to invest between $50,000 and $100,000 for Colorful Communities efforts in its Pittsburgh headquarters community annually, complementing grants made through the PPG Foundation and PPG corporate support for many Pittsburgh cultural and sports organizations.

Other areas slated to benefit from the Colorful Communities program in 2016 are Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Cleveland in the U.S., as well as communities in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Denmark.