PPG and the PPG Foundation announced an investment of $13 million in 2020 to address the needs of local communities in the U.S. and internationally.
The funding supported initiatives focused on education, COVID-19 relief, social justice and employee engagement.
“As the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, economic hardships and other challenges throughout 2020, our company's purpose to ‘protect and beautify the world’ guided our actions in serving our local communities and neighbors,” said Malesia Dunn, executive director, PPG Foundation and corporate global social responsibility.
Highlights of 2020 community engagement commitments by PPG and the PPG Foundation include:
- $4.5+ million to COVID-19 relief efforts. From Feeding America in the U.S. to the Chinese Red Cross Federation, PPG partnered with more than 150 leading humanitarian and community-based organizations to fund more than $1.1 million in local recovery efforts. The company also provided more than 5.1 million meals to food-insecure families; donated $1.9 million in masks, personal protective equipment and other in-kind supplies; and helped schools and other institutions transition to remote instruction. Continuing these efforts in 2021, the PPG Foundation made an initial $100,000 donation to Rise Against Hunger to support global food insecurity relief. (See a full list of 2020 partners here);
- $5.2 million to help grow next-generation STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) leaders. From partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of Western Pa. to facilitating mentorship programs with Junior Achievement in Brazil, PPG funding helped community partners adapt to remote formats and supported opportunities for STEM discovery and advanced learning, including $940,000 in student scholarships.
- 50% of PPG Foundation giving targeted diverse communities. The PPG Foundation continued its support of STEM programs that provide educational pathways for Black communities, people of color and other historically underrepresented populations in the U.S. In early 2021, PPG committed $20 million by 2025 in this area.
PPG’s global COLORFUL COMMUNITIES program celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2020 and marked the completion of 330 projects. Since the program’s inception, more than 17,400 employee and community volunteers have brought color and brightness to community assets in 42 countries, impacting more than 6.7 million people.
Despite a reduced number of Colorful Communities projects in 2020 due to the global pandemic, PPG-sponsored research revealed color can improve classroom experiences for teachers and students. The research inspired a variety of Colorful Communities projects completed under health and safety guidelines in 2020, including:
- Zhangjiagang White Cloud Primary School in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, China: PPG employee volunteers united to restore a dance studio, reading room and exterior wall to beautify the school’s environment for more than 1,200 students;
- IC Carducci Vochieri in Alessandria, Italy: Alongside community partners, PPG volunteers reinvigorated a local middle school and provided a fresh start to more than 600 students returning to their classrooms amid the pandemic;
- Three learning environments in Uruguay and Brazil: Volunteers transformed classrooms with brightness and color, marking a safe return to the Colorful Communities program in Latin America;
- Richmond Heights Middle School, Miami: PPG leaders and volunteers from across the globe picked up their paintbrushes in early 2020 to provide a colorful revitalization for the school and its 500 students.
As various parts of the world faced natural disasters or unforeseen hardships in 2020, PPG and the PPG Foundation also established and supported community rebuilding programs.
The response to impacted communities included partnerships with the United Way of Southwestern Louisiana – Hurricane Laura Fund for emergency hurricane recovery programs and the Australian Red Cross following the catastrophic brushfires.
“While our Colorful Communities projects and global charitable giving may have looked different than in past years due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, our funding resources and the efforts of our committed employee volunteers continued to brighten schools and communities, spark a passion for science and help those facing hardships,” said Dunn. “At a time when so much has changed, we remained focused on creating happier, healthier, more united communities and supporting our most vulnerable neighbors.”
