On December 5 and 6, multiple local painting groups joined forces to repaint 25 guest rooms at the House, creating a calm and refreshing environment for our families.
Behind the Scenes: PPG Paints Gets the Ball Rolling
Back in 2023, RMHC of Central Ohio expanded from 122 to 206 guest rooms, making it the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world.
PPG Paints kindly donated all the paint for the expansion, helping to complete the 84 new rooms. They provided their “Copper Armor” paint, the only anti-viral and anti-bacterial paint on the market, and a perfect choice for the House.
“One of our employees had a little boy who was sick and in Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” said Sandy Johnson, Account Development Manager at PPG Paints. “His wife stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for about a month, and he let us know how amazing you are. So, when the opportunity was brought to us with the new addition, we wanted to help out. That’s how we serve: donating paint.”
PPG Paints has also generously committed to donating enough paint to refresh all guest rooms in the original building. To do this, though, we needed painters, and PPG was determined to help find them.
When PPG Paints decided to sponsor the Q4 Gathering of Ohio Painters (GOOP) meeting, they knew they had found their in. They coordinated with the leadership of GOOP to create a Paint it Forward Day of Service, where they would help to repaint guest rooms in our original building.
Organizing Paint it Forward Day of Service at RMHC
Michal Cheney, owner of No Drip Painting and member of GOOP, spearheaded the event and the planning with PPG Paints, looking at how many rooms they could paint in a few days, who all could attend and what supplies they needed.
“Paint it Forward [projects] are one of the main purposes of No Drip Painting,” said Cheney. “We see the business as our opportunity to give back and have an impact.”
Cheney shared that she loved organizing this event with GOOP, as this was both a way to give back to the community and to bring together local painting companies. GOOP tries to combat stereotypes of painters by bringing a professional and communal voice to the industry, and the Paint it Forward Day of Service perfectly exemplifies that.
“The older thought process in the painting industry is that you don’t come together, you don’t share information,” she said. “But during this service day, we all came together. It was such a positive environment.”
In total, nearly 40 painters and 10 staff members from 12 different companies came together to paint 25 family guest rooms. The in-kind value of this project is near six figures. And the impact is priceless.
“I hope all the painters that were involved understand that we’re doing so much more than putting paint on the walls. We have this skill that we use on a daily basis, and it can really do wonderful things for people.”
The Impact of Paint it Forward
Now, a year after the expansion, 25 of the older guest rooms have been fully refreshed with the same cohesive colors and look. The paint feels refreshing and calming, free of the wear and tear that older guest rooms often have on their walls.
“When a family checks into these guest rooms, they look brand new” said Kate Becker, Chief Programs Officer. “That’s one less thing that families have to worry about.“
On the RMHC of Central Ohio team, we only have one full time staff managing our facilities, Zak Chappelear. To repaint this many rooms in addition to his regular duties would have taken more than a year—and this group voluntarily completed the project in just two days.
“Seeing that many people come together and volunteer their time, and companies putting up thousands of dollars worth of work and labor to come help us—it’s mind blowing to me,” said Chappelear “It’s really inspiring, to be honest.”
Seven of the rooms repainted are part of our breastfeeding ward, a section for new mothers who need to pump during their stay. These rooms are equipped with a hospital grade breast pump and are on the first floor for easy access. Usually, families stay in this area for longer periods of time due to the nature of their stay.
“The families that are living in those rooms are not only dealing with the reality that they have a new baby in the hospital, but they have to be away from their home and support system for a longer period of time,” said Becker. “So, we really wanted to make sure that those rooms specifically were very well taken care of.”
These newly refreshed rooms will provide respite for mothers and families for years to come, offering a safe and clean sanctuary to rest in at the end of long days. Thank you to the following groups for their involvement in this Paint it Forward Day of Service:
PPG Paints
Wooster Brush Company
No Drip Painting
Swatch Pro Painters, Inc.
Sunlight Housepainting
Pritt’s Painting
Renew Paint & Power Wash
Rock Solid Painting Co.
Visionary Home Solution
Boyer Brothers Painting
Prim Painting
Craftsmen Painter
Individual Volunteer Painters from Various Companies
One dedicated painter drove all the way down from Canada to join this Day of Service out of gratitude for her own personal connection Ronald McDonald House Charities. Read her story here.