MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PPG (NYSE:PPG) today announced the completion of a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES™ project in collaboration with HandsOn Miami that helped revitalize Santa Clara Elementary School. 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 16 PPG PAINTS™ stores and plans to open five more in 2018.

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PPG completes a COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project at Santa Clara Elementary School in Miami (Photo: Business Wire)

The project brought together 110 PPG global leaders as part of an annual global leadership meeting as well as 20 local PPG employees. The volunteers spent a combined 385 hours revitalizing the school’s outdoor science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education classroom, hallways, cafeteria and the library. PPG provided a $10,000 PPG Foundation grant to support educational programs and 100 gallons of PPG Paints products. Volunteers painted the facility with inspirational quotes and popular book characters in a palette of over 30 PPG Paints colors. The colors were chosen to create a bright, engaging space that encourages creativity, collaboration and learning.

“We are grateful for the support of socially responsible companies like PPG who are willing to roll their sleeves up to make a difference for our young people”, said Dale Mandell, CEO of HandsOn Miami. “Through collaboration and service, we are able to create truly meaningful impact in our community.”

A focal point of the newly-renovated school will be an outdoor classroom that brings STEM curriculum to life, providing educators an innovative way to teach hands-on STEM subjects. Because the school believes STEM touches all subjects, all teachers will be welcomed to utilize the area. In addition, they will use the garden area to promote sustainable living and healthy eating by growing fruits and vegetables.

“Improving a learning environment can help motivate, inspire and engage students,” said Victor Echevarria, PPG regional sales manager, Architectural Coatings. “Art and color are embedded in the Miami community. PPG is proud to contribute to this vibrant culture and give back to a school that needs it most.”

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 Colorful Communities, 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 125 Colorful Communities projects, impacting more than 4 million people in 23 countries.

PPG and the PPG Foundation aim to bring color and brightness to PPG communities around the world. We invested more than $10.5 million in 2017, supporting hundreds of community organizations across 29 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 and follow @PPG_Communities on Twitter.

PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD™

At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 130 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $14.8 billion in 2017. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.

We protect and beautify the world, PPG Paints and Colorful Communities are trademarks and the PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

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