PPG has announced the start of a “Colorful Communities” project in Huntsville, Alabama, to help renovate and beautify the Constitution Hall and the site at Alabama Constitution Village, which is considered to be the birthplace of Alabama. As part of the effort, on Saturday, March 25, about 50 volunteers will serve as volunteer painters, gardeners and landscapers on the Constitution Hall grounds. The volunteers include PPG employees and family members, team members of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, and employees of the EarlyWorks Family of Museums that operates Alabama Constitution Village.

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 Huntsville, where PPG operates an aerospace transparencies facility and has two area PPG PAINTS stores.

In addition to the volunteers, PPG is providing $61,000 as well as 250 gallons of its products – SEAL GRIP universal alkyd primer and color-matched FORTIS 450 exterior paint – to restore the exterior aesthetic of Constitution Hall. When the project is completed in June, PPG employees will volunteer again at the site, serving as docents, activity leaders and community open-house hosts during a special “PPG Week” of events.

Constitution Hall is a reproduction of the vacant cabinet shop in which 44 delegates of Alabama’s first constitutional convention met on July 5, 1819, to organize Alabama as the 22nd state. It is built on the original shop’s foundation, and it is the first building at Alabama Constitution Village to be restored in preparation for Alabama’s bicentennial. A nonprofit agency of the City of Huntsville, Alabama Constitution Village is one of three museums comprising the EarlyWorks Family of Museums. Programming at the village serves north Alabama schoolchildren and families, and thousands of visitors are expected in 2018 and 2019 as Alabama celebrates its bicentennial.

“PPG is pleased to support the restoration of Constitution Hall by providing funding, volunteers and products for a project that is important to Huntsville, the state of Alabama and our country,” said Tom Meyer, PPG plant manager at the Huntsville aerospace facility. “Helping ensure that future generations can glimpse an important moment from history at Constitution Hall will be a source of pride for all of us at PPG. We are especially grateful to be joined by team members from Toyota, which is a customer of PPG’s automotive coatings business.”

Toyota is contributing funding for restoration of the replica of Sheriff Stephen Neal’s house at Constitution Village.

“We want to build more than just great cars,” said Kim Ogle, Toyota Alabama corporate communications analyst. “We also want to build great communities where our team members and customers live and work. We are thrilled to partner with PPG on this project to improve Constitution Village and applaud their efforts to organize a partnership opportunity that will benefit our community for generations to come.”

Bart Williams, executive director, EarlyWorks Family of Museums, said, “We have been amazed by the support this community is showing Alabama Constitution Village in preparation for Alabama’s bicentennial in 2019. It’s these community partnerships that will ensure the success of Alabama Constitution Village during the bicentennial celebration and also leave a lasting legacy for the future.”

Preparation work and painting of the exterior of Constitution Hall are being done by professionals with Jason Howard Painting of Huntsville.

The Colorful Communities program is PPG’s signature initiative for community engagement efforts, with the aim to enhance, protect and beautify neighborhoods where PPG operates around the world. The program increases PPG’s commitment to invest in communities and supports projects that transform community spaces, providing PPG volunteers and donated PPG products. In 2015 and 2016 combined, PPG completed nearly 60 Colorful Communities projects, and it expects to complete about 75 more this year.