PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The PPG Foundation recently donated a total of $71,500 to support two national science-education initiatives. The grants highlight PPG’s (NYSE:PPG) commitment to increasing educational opportunities for young people in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

A $46,500 grant to the American Chemical Society is supporting three scholarships through the ACS Scholars Program, each awarded to an underrepresented-minority college student pursuing a degree in chemistry or chemical engineering. In addition to providing renewable scholarship funding during the students’ freshman through senior years, the program partners students with industry mentors, assists them in finding summer research internships, encourages them to present research findings at ACS conferences, and generally helps them succeed in college and in life.

For Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) in Minnesota, the PPG Foundation again provided a $25,000 grant to support programming related to the “SCIGIRLS^®” PBS KIDS television show and website for young people ages 8-12. The SciGirls show features girls using science and engineering in their daily lives, and the PPG Foundation has supported it and related programs and resources annually since 2012. The current grant funds both workshops in which TPT trains “role models” in communities where PPG operates on how to encourage young people’s interest in these subjects, and opportunities for newly-trained “role models” to practice their engagement skills with young people in the community.

“We are excited to support innovative organizations such as ACS and TPT in encouraging enthusiasm for science and technology in young people, and to engage PPG employees with these programs as mentors and role models,” said Sue Sloan, PPG Foundation executive director. “We have seen great value in the ACS Scholars program first-hand since it started in 1995, as several of its graduates have joined PPG as chemists and engineers. We look forward to seeing how our new ACS Scholars and the young girls inspired by our TPT-trained PPG ‘role models’ will impact the future of science and technology.”

The PPG Foundation aims to bring color and brightness to PPG communities in the United States. 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 $15.3 billion in 2016. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.

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SciGirls is produced for PBS by tpt National Productions and is made possible by the National Science Foundation. Additional support provided by L’Oreal USA’s For Girls in Science program, Northrup Grumman Foundation and PPG Foundation. SciGirls ®/© 2017 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. pbskids.org/scigirls

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