Valspar and Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity Team up for National Neighborhood Week

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May 09, 2016, 08:00 ET

CHICAGO, May 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark the start of the summer painting and home improvement season, Valspar is partnering with Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity to help families in need of decent, affordable housing and to strengthen communities through Valspar's National Neighborhood Week, May 9-14.

Employees from Valspar's four Chicago-area facilities — Chicago, Wheeling, Marengo and Matteson — are volunteering with the eight Habitat for Humanity organizations across Chicagoland during the week. They will be working on a variety of painting, building and minor home repair projects to give families a hand up and to help other homeowners live independently and securely in their homes. Other employees will be volunteering in Habitat ReStores, doing a variety of tasks, from painting to stocking inventory to assisting customers with their purchase of gently used or new donated items.

"Valspar has been a critical partner to Habitat for Humanity – throughout the country and specifically here in Chicagoland," said Matt Johnson, President and CEO of Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity. "The company and its local executives have been instrumental leaders in our work to increase the affordable housing supply here in this region, and we're thrilled to showcase that partnership next week from Kane to Cook County and Lake to Will County."

More than 500 employees from Valspar's 30 U.S. locations are volunteering with Habitat organizations across the country during National Neighborhood Week. In addition to volunteers, Valspar is providing $2.5 million in cash and product donations to support 51 Habitat organizations, including more than $250,000 for Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity and its eight affiliates.

The affiliates are:

Habitat for Humanity Chicago (Chicago)
Habitat for Humanity Chicago South Suburbs (Hazel Crest)
DuPage Habitat for Humanity (Wheaton)
Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity (Aurora)
Habitat for Humanity Lake County (Waukegan)
Habitat for Humanity of McHenry County (McHenry)
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley (Elgin)
Will County Habitat for Humanity (Joliet)

"Valspar's National Neighborhood Week is about rolling up our sleeves and rolling on a fresh coat of paint to improve communities in which we operate," said Kimberly Welch, Valspar Vice President of Communications and Chair of The Valspar Foundation. "Our employee volunteers are excited to contribute to Habitat's mission — helping families in need of decent, affordable housing."

Valspar donates paint for every Habitat home built, repaired or refurbished in the United States. Since 2002, Valspar has donated more than 2.5 million gallons. Valspar is a founding partner of the A Brush with Kindness program, which helps low-income homeowners who struggle to maintain their homes. The program helps transform neighborhoods by providing painting, landscaping and minor home repairs for people in need, many of whom are elderly, veterans or disabled. Since co-founding the program in 1998, over 15,000 families have been helped through A Brush with Kindness.

About Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity:

Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity was created as a support organization for Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the Chicagoland area, with a goal of significantly increasing the number of families served in the Chicagoland region. Habitat is committed to creating opportunities for individuals and families to thrive; to revitalizing neighborhoods and building communities; and to helping transform generations through home ownership. We do this by making housing affordable to hardworking people without access to conventional financing and offer individuals a hand up, fueled by our belief in dignity, self-sufficiency, collaboration, and hope. For more information, visit www.chicagolandhabitat.org.

Valspar: If it matters, we're on it.^®

Valspar is a global leader in the coatings industry providing customers with innovative, high-quality products and value-added services. Our 11,000 employees worldwide deliver advanced coatings solutions with best-in-class appearance, performance, protection and sustainability to customers in more than 100 countries. Valspar offers a broad range of superior coatings products for the consumer market, and highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets. Founded in 1806, Valspar is headquartered in Minneapolis. Valspar's reported net sales in fiscal 2015 were $4.4 billion and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: VAL). For more information, visit www.valspar.com and follow @valspar on Twitter.

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SOURCE Valspar