The Gateway Center at the Gibson Health Hub got a fresh coat of paint in several places on Tuesday, thanks to the efforts of 125 painters from the National Painting Contractors Association (PCA).
These painters, who were in Albuquerque at a conference this week, volunteered their time to paint the Gateway through their “Paint It Forward” initiative.
This is a national philanthropic campaign run by the PCA which aims to spread “painting happiness” and give back to the community.
The event on Tuesday marked the largest “Paint It Forward” project in the association’s history and the first nationally coordinated one as well.
In total, over 1000 hours of painter labor was done and materials were donated to the project by Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore.
The estimated total value of both the labor and materials was close to $400,000.
The fresh coats of paint come ahead of the projected opening of the Gateway Center in April.
When the center does open, it will with the goal of helping 1000 people a day.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, who got up on a cherry-picker and painted a section of the lobby after speaking Tuesday, said the efforts of the painters will not go unnoticed by the public.
“Really appreciate the profession, so thank you for what you do to make the spaces that we live in and the spaces we see beautiful each and every day.”