GE Volunteers take part in first regional Paintfest

Fifty-two GE volunteers including 29 staff members of GE Oil & Gas, Aviation, Energy, Healthcare and Corporate and their families took part in the three-hour painting festival to complete colourful murals to be contributed to hospitals and charity organisations in the region. The volunteers also contributed personal hygiene items that will be distributed to these organisations.

The largest and most global volunteer effort in GE's history, PaintFest flagged off on March 6 with an estimated 15,000 GE Volunteers painting colour-coded murals that will be donated to healthcare facilities and non-profit organizations worldwide. The international event was held in 100 GE locations and Qatar represented the Middle East and North Africa region.

GE organized PaintFest in association with the Foundation for Hospital Art, which is driven by its founding objective of comforting patients by donating one mural to every hospital on earth.

"GE's Planet PaintFest is a great way for GE Volunteers to help local nonprofits and healthcare organizations in a lighthearted setting," said Mohammad Ayoub, Operations Leader and Region General Manager - Middle East for GE Oil & Gas. "We receive ongoing feedback that these vibrant PaintFest murals lift spirits and are greatly appreciated."

Initiated by an advertising professional turned humanitarian John Feight, PaintFest brings together thousands of people who work on colour-coded murals that are put together to form impressive works of art. The focus of the event is more on people participation than art per se and no artistic experience is needed to take part.

"PaintFest is a community initiative that adds value to human life by making hospitals beautiful places for healing," said Marwan Al-Roub, General Manager for Qatar Technology and Learning Center. "The paintings, created by the GE volunteers in the region at the PaintFest in Qatar, will be distributed to local hospitals and non-profit organizations that support charity work."

GE Volunteers Foundation, a public charity dedicated to improving communities worldwide, supports the event financially. The Foundation also provides annual grants based on well-defined criteria to qualified recipients in the areas of education, environment, community development and disaster relief.