Thomas Denhez: Bringing Art to Hospitals to Help Ease the Pain

Thomas Denhez has been hugely influential in our partnership with AFM-Téléthon, a patient organization, fighting against neuro-muscular diseases. Since their very first contact, he has been working on ways for PPG to help support the association. For the third year of our cooperation, our team took their COLORFUL COMMUNITIES® efforts to the Raymond-Poincaré Hospital in Garches, France, and organized a nation-wide sales event and internal fundraising activities in support of the association.

Thomas is our customer relationship management (CRM) business expert for Architectural Coatings (AC) EMEA South, based in Rueil, France.

Which might go some way to explaining his enthusiasm in spreading the word through our Colorful Communities initiative!

His dedication to the cause is an inspiration. Not only was he able to take the endeavor national in 2019, but didn’t let 2020 stop him succeeding against the odds to bring color to those who most needed it during this difficult time.

No Such Thing As a Typical Day

Thomas’s motivation and perseverance are apparent to everyone every day at PPG. To his colleagues, it comes as no surprise that his involvement with AFM-Téléthon is also as outstanding as his positive attitude to his work. As a freshly appointed CRM business expert, his main role is to work on the implementation of the ClientLink CRM system in France, Portugal and Italy.

The teamwork required in his role brings him a lot of personal pleasure, as does the fact that he doesn’t have a ‘typical day’.

A Partnership That Hit the Ground Running

Three years ago, Thomas and his colleagues in France selected AFM-Téléthon to support through both our Colorful Communities and Charity Partner programs.

The association of patients and relatives of patients fighting disease is a major player in biomedical research for rare diseases. The association supports a network of multidisciplinary specialist consultation and reference centers for patients affected by neuromuscular diseases around France, and clinical trials in genetic diseases.

Thomas has been instrumental in driving cooperation with AFM-Téléthon since the very beginning, back in September 2018. By December that year the team was already carrying out their first Colorful Communities project in Paris!

The following year, he helped expand the project nationally, involving 400 volunteers in painting seven hospitals in major cities across France.

A December Tradition of Community Giving

Despite the difficulties of 2020, Thomas and his team were still able to organize the beautification of 400 m² of the Neurological Department at the Raymond-Poincaré Hospital in Garches, funded by AFM-Téléthon.

His role was identifying the site, ordering the products and contracting workers. What’s more, he ensured everyone’s safety with personal protective equipment and social distancing and helped raise donations through the organization of various fundraising activities.

Thomas has been encouraged over the years to see just how eager the PPG team has been in these initiatives. It has become a sort of December tradition, and while everyone knew it wouldn’t be safe, many colleagues missed that they weren’t able to personally take part this year as volunteers.

Creating a “Unique Place in the World”

The team used 250 liters of a new innovative product with antibacterial properties and excellent green air qualities with resistance to frequent cleaning.

Irène Speculante, color stylist, and Fabrice Roret, who led the color study department, did an amazing job choosing soothing colors from the PPG 2021 Palette of the Year that were appropriate to the place and the people who use it.

But as a very special treat, the hospital now boasts a 'Mur de Vie' fresco painted by French painter Théo Lopez (from the artist collective "9th Concept”) where he used many shades from the CHROMATIC® color chart.