Bloomberg Employees Team up with Publicolor to Transform the New York Common Pantry

Originally posted on bloomberg.com.

Recently, Bloomberg brought together two of our long-time nonprofit partners, Publicolor and the New York Common Pantry, to help transform the visitor experience for New Yorkers in need at Common Pantry’s food pantry and headquarters. Over the course of one week, 67 Bloomberg employees spent 436 hours alongside 20 Publicolor students (and 6 Publicolor employees!), and the Common Pantry employees to prime and paint three floors of Common Pantry’s building.

Located in East Harlem, the Common Pantry is dedicated to reducing hunger and providing homeless, food insecure, and low-income families and individuals the resources they need for independence. To help create a more inviting space for families and staff, our volunteers teamed up with students from Publicolor, an organization dedicated to promoting the imaginative use of color and design in school buildings by connecting youth to a long term design and paint program in public schools. Publicolor has been one of Bloomberg’s longest-standing non-profit partners and was the company’s first volunteer engagement project in 1996.

This one of a kind volunteer opportunity allowed Bloomberg employees to foster new relationships with Publicolor students and discuss education and career paths, all while transforming the dining area, pantry, hallways, and offices at Common Pantry.

Stephen Grimaldi, Executive Director of New York Common Pantry said, “NYCP is grateful to both Bloomberg and Publicolor for their combined efforts transforming our building into a warm and welcoming environment. Our colorful walls create an inviting space which allows our guests to feel relaxed and comfortable. We are incredibly thankful to everyone who was a part of this process: the Publicolor staff who thoughtfully chose our color scheme, Fresh Coat students who worked long hours painting our walls, and Bloomberg volunteers who dedicated their time to assist with this transformation.”

Ruth Shuman, Founder and President of Publicolor said, “It was a joy for all of us to partner with the New York Common Pantry and Bloomberg to bring the dignity, respect and joy of color and design to their clients and staff. Creating a greater sense of pride and community are goals as we empower our students, many of whom were struggling at school to learn strong and transferable work habits as well as re-engage with their education.”

In 2014, Bloomberg supported 1,200 non-profits in 28 countries with more than 7,300 employee volunteers contributing more than 57,000 hours of service across 53 cities worldwide.