PPG announced the completion of a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES® project that helped revitalize the Escola Municipal Professora Maria Leni Haluch de Bastos school in São José dos Pinhais, Brazil. The project is the result of a collaboration between PPG and auto maker Renault do Brasil.

About 194 volunteers participated in the project, including employees from PPG and Renault, school members and community residents and PPG provided more than 215 gallons (820 liters) of RENNER® paints by PPG. The work breathed new life into the school, which serves more than 480 preschool students and has not received a new coat of paint for many years.

PPG experts carried out a color study to make the educational environment more playful, cheerful and stimulating for students of different age groups, with new, vibrant colors for the school’s classrooms, courtyards and facade. The school's vegetable garden and yard were also renovated, and one wall of the school was covered in environmentally themed graffiti by local artist Gardpam.

It is the second joint community project carried out by PPG and Renault in the region. In 2023, the companies collaborated to revitalize CMEI Borda Viva school, also in the city of São José dos Pinhais.

“We are very happy to carry out another volunteer project together with PPG,” said Caique Ferreira, Vice President of the Renault Institute and Director of Communications at Renault do Brasil. “We believe in the transformative power of education and with the renewed and more colorful environment, children will certainly be more motivated to learn and develop.”

“Colorful Communities is an expression of our commitment to the positive transformation of the communities in which we operate,” said Marizeth Carvalho, PPG General Manager, Latin America South. “We are proud to team up with Renault again and see the revitalization of another school, providing a more vibrant and stimulating environment for learning,” 

This project is part of the third year of PPG’s New Paint for a New Start initiative, under which PPG volunteers carried out more than 25 colorful and transformative school and educational space makeovers worldwide. 

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 Colorful Communities 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 500 Colorful Communities projects, impacting more than 8.2 million people in 50 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 $17.5 million in 2023, supporting hundreds of organizations across nearly 40 countries. By investing in educational opportunities, we help grow tomorrow’s STEM innovators and skilled workforce 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 communities.ppg.com.