PPG Industries has announced the completion of its first “Colorful Communities” charitable giving project in Europe, which helped revitalize the Cesare Arrigo Children’s Hospital in Alessandria, Italy. The Colorful Communities program, which PPG launched in May, incorporates employee volunteers, products and charitable giving to bring color and vitality to communities where the company operates around the world. The program expands PPG’s investment in communities by committing an additional $10 million over 10 years.

The Cesare Arrigo Children’s Hospital project brought together 110 PPG employee volunteers from its Felizzano and Quattordio plants and its architectural coatings manufacturing facility in Cavallirio. Employee volunteers used SIGMA COATINGS® paint products, a PPG brand, to beautify the gates surrounding the hospital, and they planted bright flowers in the gardens on its grounds, to create a more positive and pleasant environment. PPG awarded a grant of $18,000 to Fondazione Uspidalet, a community organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of patients at the hospital, to support the project. The work helped beautify the children’s hospital for its 125th anniversary, which the community celebrated June 13.

“The Cesare Arrigo Children’s Hospital is an important community institution and close to the hearts of our employees,” said Benito Sala, PPG plant manager in Quattordio. “We wanted to bring a bit of color and excitement to the young patients and visitors and leave a tangible sign of our commitment to the communities where we operate and where our employees and their families live.”

PPG’s Colorful Communities initiative aims to enhance, protect and beautify the neighborhoods where the company operates. Colorful Communities project support goes beyond grants. Together with community partners and PPG employee volunteers, the program supports projects that transform community assets. Examples of Colorful Communities projects may include a school classroom makeover, conservation of a historical monument in a city center, or painting over graffiti in important community spaces. The Colorful Communities program is currently engaged with a number of communities and expects to complete more than 14 projects in 2015 in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

“We are excited to have completed our first Colorful Communities project in Europe,” said PPG Corporate Global Social Responsibility Executive Director Sue Sloan. “PPG employees around the world are enthusiastically embracing this new initiative, and we’re all eager to see how the program will make an impact and add color in the global communities where we operate.”

The Colorful Communities program is PPG’s signature initiative for its community engagement efforts. In 2014, PPG and the PPG Industries Foundation donated more than $5.7 million to hundreds of community organizations across 24 countries around the world. These investments focused on: education programs that teach young people skills needed to succeed in studies and careers related to science, technology, engineering and math, such as jobs in advanced manufacturing; revitalization programs for buildings and community spaces; and organizations important to employees through grant and matching-funds programs.