The project brought together more than 60 PPG employees, their families and community members, who spent one day revitalizing the school’s interior and exterior alongside volunteers from the Rally Maya organization and customer Tecnologia en Pinturas del Sureste. Located in the middle of the jungle, the school is attended by around 40 children.

PPG invested more than $10,000 to assist with the project, including nearly 150 gallons of COMEX paint products. 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 Yucatan, where PPG has a distribution network for its Automotive Refinish and Architectural Coatings businesses.

The Luis Gonzaga Urbina School is located far from the state’s capital city and the technology and basic services available in an urban setting. Students of differing ages and grades sometimes share classroom space as they learn about science, history and ethics while also acquiring skills typical of the Mayan culture to preserve their Mexican pre-Hispanic roots.

“We are very far from civilization, and sometimes assistance takes too long to get here,” said Cuitlahuac Uicab Cetina, director, Luis Gonzaga Urbina School. “Because of PPG, TPS and Rally Maya, our school is full of color and brightness. It looks like a better future.”

Volunteers spent the day painting the school’s interior and exterior walls, classrooms and playground in a vibrant pallet that included colors Broche, Escándalo, Disparado and Bella from the Comex COLORLIFE paint system. The shades were chosen based on the science behind a color’s impact on the learning process, as discussed in Eva Heller’s book “Psychology of Color.”

“Working alongside a company like PPG that takes action to help the community motivates me and my family to spend time helping others, especially at organizations that educate Mexican youth,” said Juan Manuel Chan, GM, TPS.

PPG has completed 14 Colorful Communities projects throughout Mexico since the program’s launch in 2015.

“The Colorful Communities program has been growing in Mexico,” said Rafael Hinojos, PPG director, automotive refinish, Mexico. “At the beginning, only PPG volunteers participated in projects, and it was great. Now, our volunteers are working alongside members of the community to take action and change lives. That is the power of PPG.”