PPG’s New Paint for a New Start Initiative Transforms Zhangjiagang School

PPG has completed a colorful and transformative makeover at Houcheng Kindergarten in Zhangjiagang, China, through its global New Paint for a New Start initiative, which is part of the company’s COLORFUL COMMUNITIES program.

The project brought together more than 60 PPG volunteers, who painted the school’s exterior walls. PPG provided more than $40,000 (approximately RMB 270,000) in products and services to assist with the project, including 215 gallons (814 liters) of SEIGNEURIE exterior paint.

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 Zhangjiagang, where PPG has a production facility and its China Application Innovation Center.

Through New Paint for a New Start, PPG employees around the world are volunteering their time throughout the months of July and August to transform more than 25 schools and serve local students. Using PPG paint products and color expertise, each project aims to create engaging spaces for students to learn and grow.

Houcheng Kindergarten is located in the center of the residential area of Houcheng, which is a century-old town. In December 1998, it was recognized as a model kindergarten in Jiangsu Province, and the government expanded the school in 2001. The paint on all the building’s exterior walls was fading, peeling and cracking due to weathering. The New Paint for a New Start project aimed to refurbish the facility to create a colorful and beautiful space for more than 650 students and educators.

Most of the New Paint for a New Start projects worldwide use a single global color palette that PPG color experts specifically selected to elevate physical classroom environments. At Houcheng Kindergarten, volunteers used red, yellow, blue, white and green hues to develop colorful patterns that provide a refreshing visual effect.

“We are very grateful to PPG for helping beautify our space,” said Li Xiaoping, headmaster,  Houcheng Kindergarten. “The overall project design is aligned with our values of ecology, practice and harmony very well. Our students and educators really like the colors and patterns that PPG designed for us and make our kindergarten life happy and interesting.”

“PPG is committed to the education and growth of our children,” said Fiona Chen, PPG associate director, Government Affairs and Community Engagement, Asia Pacific. “When the students of Houcheng Kindergarten go back to school in September, they will find a bright and colorful school that will help them feel excited, supported and ready to learn.”