PPG has completed the first COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project in Brazil, which helped to add color to the new Children’s Cancer Institute (ICI) site in Porto Alegre. 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. The program increases PPG’s commitment to invest in communities by adding $10 million to support efforts made during a 10-year period.

The project brought together about 20 volunteers, including PPG employees of the nearby RENNER® Paints facility in Gravataí, who spent a day helping to paint the new ICI site. PPG donated about 234 liters of DUCRYL paints for the project, which volunteers used to paint four floors of the Integrated Support Center – the new headquarters of the institute. The center unifies and extends services to clients in fields such as dentistry, psychology and nutrition.

“Our goal is to bring joy to spaces that children of the institute visit daily,” said Fabiano Balieiro, PPG general manager, Renner Paints, who volunteered with the project team. “We believe in the ability of color to make environments more welcoming and stimulating for patients, family members, volunteers, partners and employees interacting in the new space.”

Marcio Grossman, PPG business director, Latin America South, and also a project volunteer, said, “As a responsible corporate citizen, PPG is happy to share our products and people through this project. It is exciting to see the impact of our community support both in the people who will use the space and in our employee volunteers.”

Founded in 1991, the Children’s Cancer Institute of Rio Grande do Sul is a nonprofit organization that works to increase the chances of curing childhood cancer. A resource in the treatment of children and adolescents with cancer, it provides all necessary assistance for the continuity of care. Through the ICI, patients can get support for their psychological, nutritional, dental, medication, testing and other needs. Their families also receive assistance with clothing, shoes and food. The ICI also conducts scientific research dedicated to advancing new treatments for childhood cancers.