PPG recently announced that PPG and the PPG Foundation invested $11.8 million in communities worldwide in 2019. The funds supported community sustainability and educational programming, and highlight PPG’s commitment to supporting communities where its employees live, work and play.
“PPG is proud to have had the opportunity in 2019 to positively impact 325 community organizations in 38 countries where the company has a local presence,” said Malesia Dunn, executive director, PPG Foundation and corporate global social responsibility.
A selection of the grant recipients and funding purposes include:
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania: PPG AI Pathways Institute & Teen Accelerator program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Chinese universities: PPG’s University Talent Power Program, which offered scholarships to 10 Chinese and two Korean universities, as well as career counseling services at 15 Chinese universities.
• Vocational school in Kocaeli, Turkey: A new color application laboratory for students interested in pursuing a career in the automotive refinishing field.
• Junior Achievement in Sumaré, Brazil: Our Nation STEM programming, My Money My Business, Future of Work STEM and Innovation Camp.
In addition, PPG reached a milestone in 2019 by completing more than 300 Colorful Communities projects since the program’s inception in 2015. With more than 8,000 gallons (30,300 liters) of paint and 4,100 employee and community volunteers, PPG has brought color and brightness to community assets around the world, impacting more than 6.5 million people.
A few of the Colorful Communities project recipients include:
• Government primary school in Baluganj Agra, India: Nearly 200 PPG volunteers spent around four hours beautifying the school by painting the walls and creating vivid drawings of nature and slogans to inspire the 50 young students who currently attend the school.
• CEIPSO Federico Garcia de Lorca in Camarma de Esteruelas, Spain: Approximately 70 volunteers from PPG, the school and the community painted classrooms, doors and rejuvenated exterior spaces on the facility’s grounds for the more than 1,000 students who attend the school.
• Mano Amiga School in Querétaro, Mexico: Approximately 30 volunteers from PPG, Universidad Anáhuac and the community participated in the inaugural STEM Colorful Communities project, which allowed more than 200 children to experience both color and STEM in their classrooms.
• Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, Florida: More than 100 PPG global leaders spent a combined 250 hours painting areas of the facility in the school’s long-standing colors of orange, black and white to provide inspirational learning environments that will be beneficial to the success of current and future students for years to come. The project also included three bright, music-themed murals in the school’s once monochromatic band room.
“We are grateful for the continued energy and passion of our 47,000 global employees, who have positively impacted millions of people and their communities worldwide,” said Dunn.
