PPG Industries recently held its first “Colorful Communities” activity in China at the Tianjin TEDA Art Center. As part of the company’s new global community-engagement initiative, nearly 70 volunteers from PPG’s Tianjin plant helped decorate interior walls and paint bright murals in the soon-to-open Color Classroom of the art center. PPG also donated the MASTER’S MARK paint to the center before the activity.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, PPG is committed to supporting the communities where it has a presence,” said Cathy Yan, PPG general manager, corporate and government affairs, Asia Pacific. “By partnering with community organizations such as the Tianjin TEDA Art Center, PPG hopes to beautify and revitalize community assets with our products and our people.”

On the morning of Sept. 12, PPG employees and their families, led by professional artists, volunteered to paint decorative pictures on the walls of the art center’s Color Classroom using Master’s Mark interior paints by PPG. The children from the team also created a 5-meter-long picture entitled “Colorful TEDA” and presented it to the Tianjin TEDA Art Center as a gift, and volunteers assisted in painting a mural to decorate the lobby of the art center.

“We all had a fruitful day,” said Kevin Ni, PPG operations director for industrial coatings in Asia Pacific. “I would like to thank our employees and their families for volunteering to participate in this community-engagement activity. We look forward to continuing to partner with organizations in neighboring communities to create brighter and more colorful environments.”

In addition to PPG’s global community-engagement efforts, the Colorful Communities program aims to enhance, protect and beautify the neighborhoods where PPG operates by donating coatings products, accompanied by employee volunteerism, in support of community-renewal projects. The Tianjin TEDA Art Center, set to open at the end of September, will be an important place for TEDA culture and art communication as well as an arts training base for children in the community. PPG has completed four other Colorful Communities projects to date: one in the United States, two in Europe and one in South Korea. The company expects to complete more than 14 Colorful Communities projects this year in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

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.