Color Care Across America Campaign comes to New Albany | Community Spirit

NEW ALBANY, IN (WAVE) –The uplifting impact of color will be put to the test this week as Benjamin Moore Paints brings “Color Care Across America,” a paint color makeover program for shelters, to The Center for Women and Families.

The facility, nominated for the program by Mayor Douglas B. England, is among 51 chosen by the United States Conference of Mayors,USCM, to undergo the chromatic transformation that a crew of volunteer painting contractors from Ron Mattingly Construction will tackle. Benjamin Moore has spearheaded this nationwide initiative together with the USCM and the Painting & Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA), and the goal is to give the color makeovers to a shelter in each state plus one in Washington, DC, all within a 50-day period. “Color Care Across America” kicked off September 21st in  Laredo, TX and Trenton, NJ, and is due to culminate in DC sometime in November just before Thanksgiving.

According to Benjamin Moore director Carl Minchew, the Color Care program was inspired in part by President Obama’s call to service and also by the growing ranks of homeless. “It reflects the importance of forging partnerships between private enterprise and public service to find solutions for the kinds of issues that government no longer can afford to cope with alone.”

Tom Cochran, CEO & executive director of the United States Conference of Mayors, said, “The nation’s mayors are the first to understand the hardships facing families today and have made reducing homelessness one of their top priorities. With the failure of the national economy to rebound and the dwindling resources on the ground, many people are out of work, homeless and must turn to these shelters for help. That’s why we are pleased to be a part of this Benjamin Moore program. Color is powerful! If it can brighten lives and uplift the spirits of our neediest citizens. We are all for it.”

The Center for Women and Families and the other individual shelters that will undergo the color transformation were chosen through a competitive process that included a USCM review committee.

With a promise to paint the interiors of shelters that are up to 10,000 square feet in size, Benjamin Moore is providing enough paint for bedrooms, common areas such as living rooms, dining rooms and recreation spaces, entries/foyers, hallways and stairwells. It estimates that more than 3,000 gallons of paint will be put to use. In New Albany, family rooms, bedrooms, telephone rooms, an 800-foot hallway, and 65 doors are being refreshed with new color.

Minchew said the painting contractors will handle minor repair on walls, ceilings and trim to properly prepare the surfaces being painted. There’s a plan, as well, to leave behind a few extra gallons with brushes and rollers “in case residents, staff or volunteers feel inspired to spruce up other areas of the house that remain in need of a coating.”

The Color Care program is also underway in Canada, where a shelter in nine provinces is getting a color makeover, as well.

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