Combining style, durability and affordability, the family-owned optical company introduces a new line of kids’ glasses built for everyday life.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y., April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LensDirect.com, a leading online retailer of vision care products, today announced the launch of Lolos Children’s Eyewear, a new line of prescription glasses designed specifically for kids. Built with both fashion and function in mind, Lolos aims to solve a longstanding gap in the market – children’s eyewear that is both stylish and reasonably priced.

The inspiration behind Lolos is both personal and practical. As a child, CEO Ryan Alovis wore bulky, oversized frames that weren’t designed with kids in mind – an experience that left him feeling self-conscious and wishing for better options. Years later, as a father of two young boys, he saw the same problem persist. Many of their friends needed glasses, yet the choices remained limited – often either too expensive or lacking in style. Lolos was created to change that.

Starting at $69 for a complete pair of prescription glasses, Lolos includes premium features at no additional cost, along with free shipping and a one-year, kid-proof guarantee with a new technology, OppsTech, which provides 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking.

“Lolos was built to meet the realities of being a kid,” said Ryan Alovis, CEO of LensDirect.com. “We saw a clear need for eyewear that could handle everyday activity without sacrificing style or affordability, and we’re excited to bring that to market.”

Designed for school, play, and everything in between, Lolos frames incorporate several proprietary features outlined in the company’s launch materials:

  • OopsTech – 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking
  • FlexFit – adjustable arms for a more customized, comfortable fit
  • ActiveGrip – silicone nose pads and temple tips to prevent slipping
  • Hypoallergenic materials for sensitive skin

Each pair is built to withstand the demands of daily use, from classrooms to playgrounds, with frames designed to bend, bounce back, and stay in place. LensDirect also backs Lolos with its Kid-Proof One-Year Guarantee. If frames are broken within 365 days, they will be replaced – no questions asked.

As with all LensDirect products, lenses are cut and installed in the company’s owned and operated New York lab and include anti-glare, scratch-resistant, and UV protection coatings at no additional cost.

Lolos is now available at LensDirect.com/lolos

About LensDirect:

Founded in 1992, LensDirect.com is one of the largest independent online retailers of optical goods, experiencing explosive growth driven by a relentless customer-first approach. The company has earned numerous accolades for exceptional customer support and built a reputation for delivering high-quality vision care at competitive prices, backed by over 100 years of optical heritage. As one of the few online DTC retailers that owns and operates its own proprietary optical lab, LensDirect maintains full control over quality, speed, and precision. LensDirect leverages advanced technology, including AR facial scanning for virtual try-on and a seamless online eye exam, to enhance the customer experience, offering leading brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley alongside its own proprietary lines including Delancey Street, Fordham, and Lolos Children’s Eyewear, and is known for its innovative lens replacement service – allowing customers to keep their frames and simply replace the lenses.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lensdirectcom-launches-lolos-childrens-eyewear-with-new-oopstech-innovation-for-breakproof-durability-302746327.html

SOURCE LensDirect.com

Combining style, durability and affordability, the family-owned optical company introduces a new line of kids’ glasses built for everyday life.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y., April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LensDirect.com, a leading online retailer of vision care products, today announced the launch of Lolos Children’s Eyewear, a new line of prescription glasses designed specifically for kids. Built with both fashion and function in mind, Lolos aims to solve a longstanding gap in the market – children’s eyewear that is both stylish and reasonably priced.

The inspiration behind Lolos is both personal and practical. As a child, CEO Ryan Alovis wore bulky, oversized frames that weren’t designed with kids in mind – an experience that left him feeling self-conscious and wishing for better options. Years later, as a father of two young boys, he saw the same problem persist. Many of their friends needed glasses, yet the choices remained limited – often either too expensive or lacking in style. Lolos was created to change that.

Starting at $69 for a complete pair of prescription glasses, Lolos includes premium features at no additional cost, along with free shipping and a one-year, kid-proof guarantee with a new technology, OppsTech, which provides 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking.

“Lolos was built to meet the realities of being a kid,” said Ryan Alovis, CEO of LensDirect.com. “We saw a clear need for eyewear that could handle everyday activity without sacrificing style or affordability, and we’re excited to bring that to market.”

Designed for school, play, and everything in between, Lolos frames incorporate several proprietary features outlined in the company’s launch materials:

  • OopsTech – 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking
  • FlexFit – adjustable arms for a more customized, comfortable fit
  • ActiveGrip – silicone nose pads and temple tips to prevent slipping
  • Hypoallergenic materials for sensitive skin

Each pair is built to withstand the demands of daily use, from classrooms to playgrounds, with frames designed to bend, bounce back, and stay in place. LensDirect also backs Lolos with its Kid-Proof One-Year Guarantee. If frames are broken within 365 days, they will be replaced – no questions asked.

As with all LensDirect products, lenses are cut and installed in the company’s owned and operated New York lab and include anti-glare, scratch-resistant, and UV protection coatings at no additional cost.

Lolos is now available at LensDirect.com/lolos

About LensDirect:

Founded in 1992, LensDirect.com is one of the largest independent online retailers of optical goods, experiencing explosive growth driven by a relentless customer-first approach. The company has earned numerous accolades for exceptional customer support and built a reputation for delivering high-quality vision care at competitive prices, backed by over 100 years of optical heritage. As one of the few online DTC retailers that owns and operates its own proprietary optical lab, LensDirect maintains full control over quality, speed, and precision. LensDirect leverages advanced technology, including AR facial scanning for virtual try-on and a seamless online eye exam, to enhance the customer experience, offering leading brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley alongside its own proprietary lines including Delancey Street, Fordham, and Lolos Children’s Eyewear, and is known for its innovative lens replacement service – allowing customers to keep their frames and simply replace the lenses.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lensdirectcom-launches-lolos-childrens-eyewear-with-new-oopstech-innovation-for-breakproof-durability-302746327.html

SOURCE LensDirect.com

Combining style, durability and affordability, the family-owned optical company introduces a new line of kids’ glasses built for everyday life.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y., April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LensDirect.com, a leading online retailer of vision care products, today announced the launch of Lolos Children’s Eyewear, a new line of prescription glasses designed specifically for kids. Built with both fashion and function in mind, Lolos aims to solve a longstanding gap in the market – children’s eyewear that is both stylish and reasonably priced.

The inspiration behind Lolos is both personal and practical. As a child, CEO Ryan Alovis wore bulky, oversized frames that weren’t designed with kids in mind – an experience that left him feeling self-conscious and wishing for better options. Years later, as a father of two young boys, he saw the same problem persist. Many of their friends needed glasses, yet the choices remained limited – often either too expensive or lacking in style. Lolos was created to change that.

Starting at $69 for a complete pair of prescription glasses, Lolos includes premium features at no additional cost, along with free shipping and a one-year, kid-proof guarantee with a new technology, OppsTech, which provides 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking.

“Lolos was built to meet the realities of being a kid,” said Ryan Alovis, CEO of LensDirect.com. “We saw a clear need for eyewear that could handle everyday activity without sacrificing style or affordability, and we’re excited to bring that to market.”

Designed for school, play, and everything in between, Lolos frames incorporate several proprietary features outlined in the company’s launch materials:

  • OopsTech – 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking
  • FlexFit – adjustable arms for a more customized, comfortable fit
  • ActiveGrip – silicone nose pads and temple tips to prevent slipping
  • Hypoallergenic materials for sensitive skin

Each pair is built to withstand the demands of daily use, from classrooms to playgrounds, with frames designed to bend, bounce back, and stay in place. LensDirect also backs Lolos with its Kid-Proof One-Year Guarantee. If frames are broken within 365 days, they will be replaced – no questions asked.

As with all LensDirect products, lenses are cut and installed in the company’s owned and operated New York lab and include anti-glare, scratch-resistant, and UV protection coatings at no additional cost.

Lolos is now available at LensDirect.com/lolos

About LensDirect:

Founded in 1992, LensDirect.com is one of the largest independent online retailers of optical goods, experiencing explosive growth driven by a relentless customer-first approach. The company has earned numerous accolades for exceptional customer support and built a reputation for delivering high-quality vision care at competitive prices, backed by over 100 years of optical heritage. As one of the few online DTC retailers that owns and operates its own proprietary optical lab, LensDirect maintains full control over quality, speed, and precision. LensDirect leverages advanced technology, including AR facial scanning for virtual try-on and a seamless online eye exam, to enhance the customer experience, offering leading brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley alongside its own proprietary lines including Delancey Street, Fordham, and Lolos Children’s Eyewear, and is known for its innovative lens replacement service – allowing customers to keep their frames and simply replace the lenses.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lensdirectcom-launches-lolos-childrens-eyewear-with-new-oopstech-innovation-for-breakproof-durability-302746327.html

SOURCE LensDirect.com

Combining style, durability and affordability, the family-owned optical company introduces a new line of kids’ glasses built for everyday life.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y., April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LensDirect.com, a leading online retailer of vision care products, today announced the launch of Lolos Children’s Eyewear, a new line of prescription glasses designed specifically for kids. Built with both fashion and function in mind, Lolos aims to solve a longstanding gap in the market – children’s eyewear that is both stylish and reasonably priced.

The inspiration behind Lolos is both personal and practical. As a child, CEO Ryan Alovis wore bulky, oversized frames that weren’t designed with kids in mind – an experience that left him feeling self-conscious and wishing for better options. Years later, as a father of two young boys, he saw the same problem persist. Many of their friends needed glasses, yet the choices remained limited – often either too expensive or lacking in style. Lolos was created to change that.

Starting at $69 for a complete pair of prescription glasses, Lolos includes premium features at no additional cost, along with free shipping and a one-year, kid-proof guarantee with a new technology, OppsTech, which provides 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking.

“Lolos was built to meet the realities of being a kid,” said Ryan Alovis, CEO of LensDirect.com. “We saw a clear need for eyewear that could handle everyday activity without sacrificing style or affordability, and we’re excited to bring that to market.”

Designed for school, play, and everything in between, Lolos frames incorporate several proprietary features outlined in the company’s launch materials:

  • OopsTech – 180° bendable frames built to flex without breaking
  • FlexFit – adjustable arms for a more customized, comfortable fit
  • ActiveGrip – silicone nose pads and temple tips to prevent slipping
  • Hypoallergenic materials for sensitive skin

Each pair is built to withstand the demands of daily use, from classrooms to playgrounds, with frames designed to bend, bounce back, and stay in place. LensDirect also backs Lolos with its Kid-Proof One-Year Guarantee. If frames are broken within 365 days, they will be replaced – no questions asked.

As with all LensDirect products, lenses are cut and installed in the company’s owned and operated New York lab and include anti-glare, scratch-resistant, and UV protection coatings at no additional cost.

Lolos is now available at LensDirect.com/lolos

About LensDirect:

Founded in 1992, LensDirect.com is one of the largest independent online retailers of optical goods, experiencing explosive growth driven by a relentless customer-first approach. The company has earned numerous accolades for exceptional customer support and built a reputation for delivering high-quality vision care at competitive prices, backed by over 100 years of optical heritage. As one of the few online DTC retailers that owns and operates its own proprietary optical lab, LensDirect maintains full control over quality, speed, and precision. LensDirect leverages advanced technology, including AR facial scanning for virtual try-on and a seamless online eye exam, to enhance the customer experience, offering leading brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley alongside its own proprietary lines including Delancey Street, Fordham, and Lolos Children’s Eyewear, and is known for its innovative lens replacement service – allowing customers to keep their frames and simply replace the lenses.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lensdirectcom-launches-lolos-childrens-eyewear-with-new-oopstech-innovation-for-breakproof-durability-302746327.html

SOURCE LensDirect.com

Originally published by Baltimore Business Journal

By Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA – President, T. Rowe Price Foundation and Head of Community Affairs
Mar 27, 2026

There’s a question I often come back to. Not in meetings or presentations, but in the quieter moments. On a drive through West Baltimore or my own neighborhood. After a conversation with a tenured nonprofit leader. In the space between what we plan and what actually happens.

What does it look like to stay?

Not to show up once. Not to write a check and move on. But to stay in a community, in a relationship, in the work long enough for something real to take root.

This year marks 45 years since the T. Rowe Price Foundation was established in Baltimore. And as I reflect on what that means, I keep coming back to that question.

The Foundation was founded in 1981 with a simple belief: A financial services firm should invest in the places and spaces where its people live and work. Not as charity. Not as obligation. As practice. As responsibility. One that is deeply intertwined with its mission and commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Over those 45 years, the Foundation has contributed more than $204 million to communities, primarily here in Baltimore. But numbers only tell part of the story.

As president of the Foundation and as someone who has spent a career thinking about and advancing how institutions serve people, I’ve come to appreciate that the real measure isn’t the size of the investment. It’s the quality of the relationship.

One of the tenets of the T. Rowe Price Foundation is listening. We let what we hear shift what we do. This community-informed approach recognizes that the people closest to the work are best positioned to shape how resources are used and solutions are implemented.

In 2015, our principles were put to the test following the murder of Freddie Gray. We chose to listen. The Foundation team attended nearly 150 community discussions. They asked questions. They took notes. And from those conversations came the Foundation’s first place-based investment: a multiyear commitment to West Baltimore that focused on leadership, capacity, and financial empowerment.

That wasn’t a response. It was part of a movement.

In the finance industry, we talk about compounding, the way consistent contributions grow over years. The same principle holds in community work.

Our Capacity Building Program is a good example. Since 2016, it has engaged more than 13,000 individuals from nonprofit organizations across Baltimore. The program walks alongside leaders, helping them strengthen their organizations from the inside out. It’s not flashy or fast, but over time, it builds something durable.

DesignFest, our partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Neighborhood Design Center, is another. It connects pro bono designers and marketers with nonprofits that need help telling their story. More than 100 organizations have received in-kind creative support. For a small nonprofit trying to reach the people they serve, that kind of help can shift everything.

And Money Confident Kids, our global financial literacy program, now reaches families in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan. Financial literacy is one of the most powerful tools we can put in a young person’s hands. When they understand how money works, they start to see different possibilities for their lives.

These programs and partnerships grew out of conversations with communities, T. Rowe Price associates, and clients about what was needed. And they endure because we stayed long enough to see them through.

Beyond our programs, last year, well over 400 of our associates served on nonprofit boards across the country. Forty percent of our global workforce donated or volunteered. Our associates logged more than 37,000 hours of volunteer service supporting nonprofit organizations.

That’s not a program. It’s ingrained in our culture. Our associates show up because they understand that their presence matters. And that understanding, passed along from one associate to the next, is part of our firm’s culture and legacy.

Throughout our history, we’ve seen neighborhoods change and young people grow into leaders. This work hasn’t gotten easier, only deeper and more focused.

The most meaningful investments don’t always look like investments at the start. Sometimes it’s a conversation. A convening. A workshop. A mentor sitting with a young person. A designer helping a nonprofit find its voice.

They look like people choosing to stay.

Baltimore has always been our home. This Foundation exists because T. Rowe Price believes in supporting the communities where our associates live and work. Not in theory. In practice. Every day. In small and large ways.

Forty-five years in, we’re still learning. Still listening.

Still here.

Raymone Jackson is the president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation and head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price. He champions and guides the firm’s community investments, inclusion, corporate communications, and sustainability strategies.
 

Originally published by Baltimore Business Journal

By Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA – President, T. Rowe Price Foundation and Head of Community Affairs
Mar 27, 2026

There’s a question I often come back to. Not in meetings or presentations, but in the quieter moments. On a drive through West Baltimore or my own neighborhood. After a conversation with a tenured nonprofit leader. In the space between what we plan and what actually happens.

What does it look like to stay?

Not to show up once. Not to write a check and move on. But to stay in a community, in a relationship, in the work long enough for something real to take root.

This year marks 45 years since the T. Rowe Price Foundation was established in Baltimore. And as I reflect on what that means, I keep coming back to that question.

The Foundation was founded in 1981 with a simple belief: A financial services firm should invest in the places and spaces where its people live and work. Not as charity. Not as obligation. As practice. As responsibility. One that is deeply intertwined with its mission and commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Over those 45 years, the Foundation has contributed more than $204 million to communities, primarily here in Baltimore. But numbers only tell part of the story.

As president of the Foundation and as someone who has spent a career thinking about and advancing how institutions serve people, I’ve come to appreciate that the real measure isn’t the size of the investment. It’s the quality of the relationship.

One of the tenets of the T. Rowe Price Foundation is listening. We let what we hear shift what we do. This community-informed approach recognizes that the people closest to the work are best positioned to shape how resources are used and solutions are implemented.

In 2015, our principles were put to the test following the murder of Freddie Gray. We chose to listen. The Foundation team attended nearly 150 community discussions. They asked questions. They took notes. And from those conversations came the Foundation’s first place-based investment: a multiyear commitment to West Baltimore that focused on leadership, capacity, and financial empowerment.

That wasn’t a response. It was part of a movement.

In the finance industry, we talk about compounding, the way consistent contributions grow over years. The same principle holds in community work.

Our Capacity Building Program is a good example. Since 2016, it has engaged more than 13,000 individuals from nonprofit organizations across Baltimore. The program walks alongside leaders, helping them strengthen their organizations from the inside out. It’s not flashy or fast, but over time, it builds something durable.

DesignFest, our partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Neighborhood Design Center, is another. It connects pro bono designers and marketers with nonprofits that need help telling their story. More than 100 organizations have received in-kind creative support. For a small nonprofit trying to reach the people they serve, that kind of help can shift everything.

And Money Confident Kids, our global financial literacy program, now reaches families in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan. Financial literacy is one of the most powerful tools we can put in a young person’s hands. When they understand how money works, they start to see different possibilities for their lives.

These programs and partnerships grew out of conversations with communities, T. Rowe Price associates, and clients about what was needed. And they endure because we stayed long enough to see them through.

Beyond our programs, last year, well over 400 of our associates served on nonprofit boards across the country. Forty percent of our global workforce donated or volunteered. Our associates logged more than 37,000 hours of volunteer service supporting nonprofit organizations.

That’s not a program. It’s ingrained in our culture. Our associates show up because they understand that their presence matters. And that understanding, passed along from one associate to the next, is part of our firm’s culture and legacy.

Throughout our history, we’ve seen neighborhoods change and young people grow into leaders. This work hasn’t gotten easier, only deeper and more focused.

The most meaningful investments don’t always look like investments at the start. Sometimes it’s a conversation. A convening. A workshop. A mentor sitting with a young person. A designer helping a nonprofit find its voice.

They look like people choosing to stay.

Baltimore has always been our home. This Foundation exists because T. Rowe Price believes in supporting the communities where our associates live and work. Not in theory. In practice. Every day. In small and large ways.

Forty-five years in, we’re still learning. Still listening.

Still here.

Raymone Jackson is the president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation and head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price. He champions and guides the firm’s community investments, inclusion, corporate communications, and sustainability strategies.
 

Originally published by Baltimore Business Journal

By Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA – President, T. Rowe Price Foundation and Head of Community Affairs
Mar 27, 2026

There’s a question I often come back to. Not in meetings or presentations, but in the quieter moments. On a drive through West Baltimore or my own neighborhood. After a conversation with a tenured nonprofit leader. In the space between what we plan and what actually happens.

What does it look like to stay?

Not to show up once. Not to write a check and move on. But to stay in a community, in a relationship, in the work long enough for something real to take root.

This year marks 45 years since the T. Rowe Price Foundation was established in Baltimore. And as I reflect on what that means, I keep coming back to that question.

The Foundation was founded in 1981 with a simple belief: A financial services firm should invest in the places and spaces where its people live and work. Not as charity. Not as obligation. As practice. As responsibility. One that is deeply intertwined with its mission and commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Over those 45 years, the Foundation has contributed more than $204 million to communities, primarily here in Baltimore. But numbers only tell part of the story.

As president of the Foundation and as someone who has spent a career thinking about and advancing how institutions serve people, I’ve come to appreciate that the real measure isn’t the size of the investment. It’s the quality of the relationship.

One of the tenets of the T. Rowe Price Foundation is listening. We let what we hear shift what we do. This community-informed approach recognizes that the people closest to the work are best positioned to shape how resources are used and solutions are implemented.

In 2015, our principles were put to the test following the murder of Freddie Gray. We chose to listen. The Foundation team attended nearly 150 community discussions. They asked questions. They took notes. And from those conversations came the Foundation’s first place-based investment: a multiyear commitment to West Baltimore that focused on leadership, capacity, and financial empowerment.

That wasn’t a response. It was part of a movement.

In the finance industry, we talk about compounding, the way consistent contributions grow over years. The same principle holds in community work.

Our Capacity Building Program is a good example. Since 2016, it has engaged more than 13,000 individuals from nonprofit organizations across Baltimore. The program walks alongside leaders, helping them strengthen their organizations from the inside out. It’s not flashy or fast, but over time, it builds something durable.

DesignFest, our partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Neighborhood Design Center, is another. It connects pro bono designers and marketers with nonprofits that need help telling their story. More than 100 organizations have received in-kind creative support. For a small nonprofit trying to reach the people they serve, that kind of help can shift everything.

And Money Confident Kids, our global financial literacy program, now reaches families in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan. Financial literacy is one of the most powerful tools we can put in a young person’s hands. When they understand how money works, they start to see different possibilities for their lives.

These programs and partnerships grew out of conversations with communities, T. Rowe Price associates, and clients about what was needed. And they endure because we stayed long enough to see them through.

Beyond our programs, last year, well over 400 of our associates served on nonprofit boards across the country. Forty percent of our global workforce donated or volunteered. Our associates logged more than 37,000 hours of volunteer service supporting nonprofit organizations.

That’s not a program. It’s ingrained in our culture. Our associates show up because they understand that their presence matters. And that understanding, passed along from one associate to the next, is part of our firm’s culture and legacy.

Throughout our history, we’ve seen neighborhoods change and young people grow into leaders. This work hasn’t gotten easier, only deeper and more focused.

The most meaningful investments don’t always look like investments at the start. Sometimes it’s a conversation. A convening. A workshop. A mentor sitting with a young person. A designer helping a nonprofit find its voice.

They look like people choosing to stay.

Baltimore has always been our home. This Foundation exists because T. Rowe Price believes in supporting the communities where our associates live and work. Not in theory. In practice. Every day. In small and large ways.

Forty-five years in, we’re still learning. Still listening.

Still here.

Raymone Jackson is the president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation and head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price. He champions and guides the firm’s community investments, inclusion, corporate communications, and sustainability strategies.
 

Originally published by Baltimore Business Journal

By Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA – President, T. Rowe Price Foundation and Head of Community Affairs
Mar 27, 2026

There’s a question I often come back to. Not in meetings or presentations, but in the quieter moments. On a drive through West Baltimore or my own neighborhood. After a conversation with a tenured nonprofit leader. In the space between what we plan and what actually happens.

What does it look like to stay?

Not to show up once. Not to write a check and move on. But to stay in a community, in a relationship, in the work long enough for something real to take root.

This year marks 45 years since the T. Rowe Price Foundation was established in Baltimore. And as I reflect on what that means, I keep coming back to that question.

The Foundation was founded in 1981 with a simple belief: A financial services firm should invest in the places and spaces where its people live and work. Not as charity. Not as obligation. As practice. As responsibility. One that is deeply intertwined with its mission and commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Over those 45 years, the Foundation has contributed more than $204 million to communities, primarily here in Baltimore. But numbers only tell part of the story.

As president of the Foundation and as someone who has spent a career thinking about and advancing how institutions serve people, I’ve come to appreciate that the real measure isn’t the size of the investment. It’s the quality of the relationship.

One of the tenets of the T. Rowe Price Foundation is listening. We let what we hear shift what we do. This community-informed approach recognizes that the people closest to the work are best positioned to shape how resources are used and solutions are implemented.

In 2015, our principles were put to the test following the murder of Freddie Gray. We chose to listen. The Foundation team attended nearly 150 community discussions. They asked questions. They took notes. And from those conversations came the Foundation’s first place-based investment: a multiyear commitment to West Baltimore that focused on leadership, capacity, and financial empowerment.

That wasn’t a response. It was part of a movement.

In the finance industry, we talk about compounding, the way consistent contributions grow over years. The same principle holds in community work.

Our Capacity Building Program is a good example. Since 2016, it has engaged more than 13,000 individuals from nonprofit organizations across Baltimore. The program walks alongside leaders, helping them strengthen their organizations from the inside out. It’s not flashy or fast, but over time, it builds something durable.

DesignFest, our partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Neighborhood Design Center, is another. It connects pro bono designers and marketers with nonprofits that need help telling their story. More than 100 organizations have received in-kind creative support. For a small nonprofit trying to reach the people they serve, that kind of help can shift everything.

And Money Confident Kids, our global financial literacy program, now reaches families in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan. Financial literacy is one of the most powerful tools we can put in a young person’s hands. When they understand how money works, they start to see different possibilities for their lives.

These programs and partnerships grew out of conversations with communities, T. Rowe Price associates, and clients about what was needed. And they endure because we stayed long enough to see them through.

Beyond our programs, last year, well over 400 of our associates served on nonprofit boards across the country. Forty percent of our global workforce donated or volunteered. Our associates logged more than 37,000 hours of volunteer service supporting nonprofit organizations.

That’s not a program. It’s ingrained in our culture. Our associates show up because they understand that their presence matters. And that understanding, passed along from one associate to the next, is part of our firm’s culture and legacy.

Throughout our history, we’ve seen neighborhoods change and young people grow into leaders. This work hasn’t gotten easier, only deeper and more focused.

The most meaningful investments don’t always look like investments at the start. Sometimes it’s a conversation. A convening. A workshop. A mentor sitting with a young person. A designer helping a nonprofit find its voice.

They look like people choosing to stay.

Baltimore has always been our home. This Foundation exists because T. Rowe Price believes in supporting the communities where our associates live and work. Not in theory. In practice. Every day. In small and large ways.

Forty-five years in, we’re still learning. Still listening.

Still here.

Raymone Jackson is the president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation and head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price. He champions and guides the firm’s community investments, inclusion, corporate communications, and sustainability strategies.
 

Originally published by Baltimore Business Journal

By Raymone Jackson, CLU, MBA – President, T. Rowe Price Foundation and Head of Community Affairs
Mar 27, 2026

There’s a question I often come back to. Not in meetings or presentations, but in the quieter moments. On a drive through West Baltimore or my own neighborhood. After a conversation with a tenured nonprofit leader. In the space between what we plan and what actually happens.

What does it look like to stay?

Not to show up once. Not to write a check and move on. But to stay in a community, in a relationship, in the work long enough for something real to take root.

This year marks 45 years since the T. Rowe Price Foundation was established in Baltimore. And as I reflect on what that means, I keep coming back to that question.

The Foundation was founded in 1981 with a simple belief: A financial services firm should invest in the places and spaces where its people live and work. Not as charity. Not as obligation. As practice. As responsibility. One that is deeply intertwined with its mission and commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Over those 45 years, the Foundation has contributed more than $204 million to communities, primarily here in Baltimore. But numbers only tell part of the story.

As president of the Foundation and as someone who has spent a career thinking about and advancing how institutions serve people, I’ve come to appreciate that the real measure isn’t the size of the investment. It’s the quality of the relationship.

One of the tenets of the T. Rowe Price Foundation is listening. We let what we hear shift what we do. This community-informed approach recognizes that the people closest to the work are best positioned to shape how resources are used and solutions are implemented.

In 2015, our principles were put to the test following the murder of Freddie Gray. We chose to listen. The Foundation team attended nearly 150 community discussions. They asked questions. They took notes. And from those conversations came the Foundation’s first place-based investment: a multiyear commitment to West Baltimore that focused on leadership, capacity, and financial empowerment.

That wasn’t a response. It was part of a movement.

In the finance industry, we talk about compounding, the way consistent contributions grow over years. The same principle holds in community work.

Our Capacity Building Program is a good example. Since 2016, it has engaged more than 13,000 individuals from nonprofit organizations across Baltimore. The program walks alongside leaders, helping them strengthen their organizations from the inside out. It’s not flashy or fast, but over time, it builds something durable.

DesignFest, our partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Neighborhood Design Center, is another. It connects pro bono designers and marketers with nonprofits that need help telling their story. More than 100 organizations have received in-kind creative support. For a small nonprofit trying to reach the people they serve, that kind of help can shift everything.

And Money Confident Kids, our global financial literacy program, now reaches families in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan. Financial literacy is one of the most powerful tools we can put in a young person’s hands. When they understand how money works, they start to see different possibilities for their lives.

These programs and partnerships grew out of conversations with communities, T. Rowe Price associates, and clients about what was needed. And they endure because we stayed long enough to see them through.

Beyond our programs, last year, well over 400 of our associates served on nonprofit boards across the country. Forty percent of our global workforce donated or volunteered. Our associates logged more than 37,000 hours of volunteer service supporting nonprofit organizations.

That’s not a program. It’s ingrained in our culture. Our associates show up because they understand that their presence matters. And that understanding, passed along from one associate to the next, is part of our firm’s culture and legacy.

Throughout our history, we’ve seen neighborhoods change and young people grow into leaders. This work hasn’t gotten easier, only deeper and more focused.

The most meaningful investments don’t always look like investments at the start. Sometimes it’s a conversation. A convening. A workshop. A mentor sitting with a young person. A designer helping a nonprofit find its voice.

They look like people choosing to stay.

Baltimore has always been our home. This Foundation exists because T. Rowe Price believes in supporting the communities where our associates live and work. Not in theory. In practice. Every day. In small and large ways.

Forty-five years in, we’re still learning. Still listening.

Still here.

Raymone Jackson is the president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation and head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price. He champions and guides the firm’s community investments, inclusion, corporate communications, and sustainability strategies.
 

WOONSOCKET, R.I.,— CVS Health® (NYSE: CVS) recently released its inaugural National Economic Impact Report demonstrating the positive economic impact that the company has in communities across the country.

The report demonstrates how CVS Health delivers $474 billion annually for the U.S. economy and supports 1.3 million jobs nationwide through its operations in every U.S. state and Washington, D.C. In addition, CVS Health operations generated $58.6 billion in local, state and federal taxes, helping to fund schools, emergency services and critical infrastructure.

“At CVS Health, our economic impact reaches far beyond our stores, clinics and facilities,” said David Joyner, President and CEO, CVS Health. “To be America’s most trusted health care company means that we help simplify care and improve health one person, one family, one community at a time. Through supporting over a million American jobs and generating significant tax revenue that helps fund schools, emergency services and infrastructure, we create stronger, more resilient communities across the country.”

Nearly 85% of Americans live within 10 miles of a CVS Pharmacy, and CVS Health serves 185 million individuals, expanding access to care across cities, towns and rural communities.

Key highlights from the report*:

  • $474 billion annual economic impact
  • Approximately 9,000 retail pharmacy locations, as well as more than 1,000 walk-in and primary care medical clinics
  • 300,000+ employees; 1.3 million jobs supported
  • $58.6 billion in taxes for local, state and federal programs
  • $239 million invested in community initiatives
  • 84,000 volunteer hours

“We are focused on helping improve communities across America. Supporting health and vitality is the foundation of our business,” said Joyner. “From our beginnings as Consumer Value Store in Lowell, Massachusetts over 60 years ago, to our presence in every state today, we’ve stayed steadfast to our core mission: helping our neighbors and our communities.”

Explore the full National Economic Impact Report, including state-by-state data and community stories, at CVS Health National Economic Impact.

*Source: Parker Strategy Group using data from CVS Health in IMPLAN

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About CVS Health

CVS Health is a leading health solutions company building a world of health around every consumer, wherever they are. As of September 30, 2025, the Company had approximately 9,000 retail pharmacy locations, more than 1,000 walk-in and primary care medical clinics and a leading pharmacy benefits manager with approximately 87 million plan members. The Company also serves an estimated more than 37 million people through traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including highly rated Medicare Advantage offerings and a leading standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. The Company’s integrated model uses personalized, technology driven services to connect people to simply better health, increasing access to quality care, delivering better outcomes, and lowering overall costs.

 

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