PPG recently completed a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES^® project in collaboration with Girl Power to help revitalize Richmond Heights Middle School. Located in Florida’s Miami-Dade County, the school provides education to more than 500 students annually in sixth through eighth grade. The project brought together more than 100 of PPG’s top global leaders, who spent a portion of their annual global leadership meeting making a difference in the lives of the school’s students and faculty.

The Colorful Communities program provides PPG volunteers and paint products, along with financial contributions, to bring color and vitality to communities where the company operates around the world, such as in Miami, where PPG has 10 PPG PAINTS™ stores.

The employee volunteers revitalized and painted four science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) laboratories, the school’s cafeteria and hallways. PPG provided more than 95 gallons of PPG Paints products to assist with the project.

“On behalf of Richmond Heights Middle School, we are extremely grateful to PPG and its employee volunteers for taking the time to invest in the wellbeing of our students,” said LaRhonda Donaldson, Richmond Heights Middle School Principal. “The impact that this project will have on our school goes well beyond a fresh coat of paint, and will create a positive and nurturing atmosphere for our students for years to come.”

Volunteers also participated in activities such as painting uplifting murals, building bikes and stuffing backpacks for local homeless youth. In addition, the PPG Foundation provided a $25,000 grant to Richmond Heights Middle School, as well as a $25,000 grant to Girl Power, who meets regularly at the school to provide programs that inform girls about the risks and consequences associated with substance abuse, low self-esteem, lack of education and more.  

“PPG understands the positive influence that color can have on a learning environment and knows that educators do not always have the time or resources to revitalize their own classrooms,” said Malesia Dunn, executive director, corporate global social responsibility and PPG Foundation. “Participating in projects like the one at Richmond Heights Middle School provides a great opportunity for our global leaders to create spaces suitable to foster development and educational opportunities.”

The Colorful Communities program, PPG’s signature initiative for supporting communities, aims to protect and beautify the neighborhoods where PPG operates around the world. Through the program, PPG’s committed volunteers contribute their time and PPG paint products to help transform community assets – from painting classrooms, to bringing color to a maternity ward and redesigning a playground. Since 2015, PPG has completed more than 300 Colorful Communities projects, impacting more than 6.5 million people in 40 countries.

PPG’s global community engagement efforts and the PPG Foundation aim to bring color and brightness to PPG communities around the world. We invested more than $9 million in 2018, supporting hundreds of organizations across 28 countries. By investing in educational opportunities, we help grow today’s skilled workforce and develop tomorrow’s innovators in fields related to coatings and manufacturing. Plus, we empower PPG employees to multiply their impact for causes that are important to them by supporting their volunteer efforts and charitable giving. Learn more at www.ppgcommunities.com.

By PPG Industries