AEG’s LA Galaxy and Dignity Health Sports Park teamed up with New Beginnings Outreach CDC and the Gardena Carson Family YMCA to support more than 800 families across the South Bay through a large-scale community distribution event.
Hosted at DHSP, the initiative provided essential resources to local households while strengthening the reach and capacity of trusted community-based organizations. Highlighting the club’s direct involvement, Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski was on-site to volunteer, working alongside staff to hand out supplies. Through the support of community partners, attendees were also provided with NORMS Restaurant meal vouchers and Northgate Market gift cards to help address ongoing grocery and meal needs. New Beginnings Outreach CDC and the YMCA leveraged the venue and operational support to connect with residents and deliver meaningful assistance where it’s needed most.
Complementing the distribution effort, radio station 102.3 KJLH provided music throughout the event, creating a welcoming atmosphere that underscored the power of community partnerships to deliver both practical support and meaningful connection.
This effort reflects AEG and LA Galaxy’s ongoing commitment to investing in the communities surrounding DHSP and Galaxy Park. By bringing together corporate resources and local expertise, the partnership aims to expand access to critical support services, reinforce community stability, and foster a stronger sense of connection and belonging.
The timing of the event aligns with the club’s Soccer Celebration presented by Spectrum, a free, multi-day public event from July 1-7. Together, these efforts highlight a holistic approach to community engagement, pairing direct support with inclusive programming that brings people together and celebrates the vibrancy of the South Bay.
Through initiatives like this, AEG and LA Galaxy continue to demonstrate how sports and entertainment platforms can be activated to drive meaningful impact, supporting both immediate needs and long-term community wellbeing.
BALTIMORE, July 6, 2026 /3BL/ – T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm and leader in retirement, has released its 2025 Community Affairs Impact Report, showcasing how the firm drives measurable impact through community investment, inclusion, sustainability, and associate engagement worldwide.
The 2025 Community Affairs Impact Report highlights the firm’s strategic efforts to strengthen its business, empower associates, and uplift communities around the world. Making an impact today and in the future, these efforts include participation in pro bono and volunteer initiatives, grantmaking, associate giving and serving, strong community partnerships, and programmatic spotlights.
Highlights from the 2025 Community Affairs Impact Report include:
$204.5 million in total giving by the T. Rowe Price Foundation since its inception in 1981
$19.4 million in total global giving to communities
More than 37,000 hours volunteered by associates globally
81% of operational waste diverted from landfills
More than 57% of associates are members of at least one business resource group
In May, the firm also celebrated Global Volunteer Month—engaging associates worldwide in community service. Associates led and participated in activities ranging from packing and sorting food donations and gardening to mentoring youth, beautifying neighborhoods, and delivering financial education.
Overall highlights from Global Volunteer Month 2026 include:
40+ organized events
5,500 volunteer hours
800+ associate volunteers
“Our Community Affairs Impact Report stands as a powerful reminder of our commitment to the communities we serve and the positive, lasting impact our associates and the T. Rowe Price Foundation have made worldwide,” said Raymone Jackson, head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price and president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation. “Through meaningful relationships, shared responsibility, and inspired action, we foster trust, collaboration, and long-term value for both our business and the communities in which we operate.”
Programs such as Global Volunteer Month and those represented in this report reflect how the firm connects its values with its stakeholders and how it leverages the time, resources, and expertise of its associates to strengthen communities worldwide.
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ABOUT T. ROWE PRICE
T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ-GS: TROW) is a leading global asset management firm, entrusted with managing $1.89 trillion in client assets as of May 31, 2026, about two-thirds of which are retirement-related. Renowned for nearly 90 years of investment excellence, retirement leadership, and independent proprietary research, the firm leverages its longstanding expertise to ask better questions that can drive better investment decisions. Built on a culture of integrity and prioritizing client interests, T. Rowe Price empowers millions of investors worldwide to thrive amid evolving markets. Visit troweprice.com/newsroom for news and public policy commentary.
BALTIMORE, July 6, 2026 /3BL/ – T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm and leader in retirement, has released its 2025 Community Affairs Impact Report, showcasing how the firm drives measurable impact through community investment, inclusion, sustainability, and associate engagement worldwide.
The 2025 Community Affairs Impact Report highlights the firm’s strategic efforts to strengthen its business, empower associates, and uplift communities around the world. Making an impact today and in the future, these efforts include participation in pro bono and volunteer initiatives, grantmaking, associate giving and serving, strong community partnerships, and programmatic spotlights.
Highlights from the 2025 Community Affairs Impact Report include:
$204.5 million in total giving by the T. Rowe Price Foundation since its inception in 1981
$19.4 million in total global giving to communities
More than 37,000 hours volunteered by associates globally
81% of operational waste diverted from landfills
More than 57% of associates are members of at least one business resource group
In May, the firm also celebrated Global Volunteer Month—engaging associates worldwide in community service. Associates led and participated in activities ranging from packing and sorting food donations and gardening to mentoring youth, beautifying neighborhoods, and delivering financial education.
Overall highlights from Global Volunteer Month 2026 include:
40+ organized events
5,500 volunteer hours
800+ associate volunteers
“Our Community Affairs Impact Report stands as a powerful reminder of our commitment to the communities we serve and the positive, lasting impact our associates and the T. Rowe Price Foundation have made worldwide,” said Raymone Jackson, head of Community Affairs at T. Rowe Price and president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation. “Through meaningful relationships, shared responsibility, and inspired action, we foster trust, collaboration, and long-term value for both our business and the communities in which we operate.”
Programs such as Global Volunteer Month and those represented in this report reflect how the firm connects its values with its stakeholders and how it leverages the time, resources, and expertise of its associates to strengthen communities worldwide.
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ABOUT T. ROWE PRICE
T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ-GS: TROW) is a leading global asset management firm, entrusted with managing $1.89 trillion in client assets as of May 31, 2026, about two-thirds of which are retirement-related. Renowned for nearly 90 years of investment excellence, retirement leadership, and independent proprietary research, the firm leverages its longstanding expertise to ask better questions that can drive better investment decisions. Built on a culture of integrity and prioritizing client interests, T. Rowe Price empowers millions of investors worldwide to thrive amid evolving markets. Visit troweprice.com/newsroom for news and public policy commentary.
The 2026 hurricane season is already underway. While NOAA forecasts a 55% probability of a below-average season, projections still call for 8–14 named storms, 3–6 hurricanes, and 1–3 major hurricanes.
At first glance, this outlook is encouraging. However, disasters are inherently unpredictable. A single storm can significantly affect your employees, regardless of overall seasonal trends. And hurricanes are only part of the story. Wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes continue to pose risks across the country.
For employers, the question isn’t if support will be needed;
It’s how prepared you are to deliver it.
Why Emergency Assistance Funds Matter
One of the most effective ways organizations can support employees during times of crisis is by establishing an Emergency Assistance Fund (EAF).
Ideally, a fund is created before disaster strikes. Having this infrastructure in place allows companies to respond quickly and provide meaningful relief when employees need it most. However, many organizations find themselves reacting after an event occurs, wanting to help but lacking the systems needed to do so effectively.
A Changing Disaster Relief Landscape
The broader disaster relief environment is evolving and becoming more complex.
At the federal level, agencies such as FEMA may shift toward higher thresholds for disaster declarations, which can delay or limit access to aid. As a result, employees affected by smaller or localized emergencies may face longer wait times for assistance or may not qualify at all.
To address this gap, many organizations are broadening their eligibility criteria to include state-declared emergencies, not just federally declared disasters.
“States are much more agile and ready to declare an emergency event than the federal government,” said Jim Starr, President and CEO of America’s Charities. “We see this especially with smaller disasters: winter storms, tornadoes, and similar events that often don’t reach the federal level.”
This shift allows companies to respond faster and provide support for a broader range of real-world situations impacting their workforce.
Launching Support Quickly When It Matters Most
Preparation is ideal, but speed is critical when disaster strikes.
To meet this need, America’s Charities offers a Quick Launch option alongside its full Emergency Assistance Program. This solution enables organizations to establish a relief program in as few as 10 business days.
The Quick Launch program includes:
Support for federal and state-level disasters
Coverage for select personal hardships
A dedicated account manager
A pre-built program framework based on best practices
Organizations can select from predefined grant amounts and eligibility timelines, balancing flexibility with rapid deployment.
e Ready Before the Next Crisis
Disasters don’t wait, and neither should your response strategy.
Establishing an Emergency Assistance Fund ensures your organization is prepared to support employees when they need it most. Whether you build a long-term program or implement a rapid response solution, having a plan in place can make a meaningful difference in your employees’ recovery and well-being.
Get Started
To learn more about Emergency Assistance Funds and how America’s Charities can help you support your workforce, reach out today.
We’re here to help you help your employees when it matters most.
A message from Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer Stacy Juchno
For more than 160 years, PNC’s strategy has been focused on the communities and people we serve. PNC’s investment in and collaboration with our employees, communities, customers, and shareholders directly reflect the strength and character of our company. When our communities thrive, we thrive.
As I step into the Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer role, I’m honored to share the substantive progress our teams accomplished in 2025. It’s important to emphasize that we do not- and cannot- do this work alone. In 2025, we engaged shareholders and community partners on corporate strategy, performance, and our role as a corporate citizen. These conversations provided valuable insight, reinforced accountability and supported continuous improvement.
At PNC, community investment is fundamental to our business. In 2025, we completed and exceeded two transformative multiyear commitments:
The four-year Community Benefits Plan surpassed our $88 billion pledge, deploying $119.3 billion in capital to promote homeownership, support small businesses and advance community investment through loans, financing, investments and philanthropic contributions. In 2025, Community Development Banking extended $660 million in loans and investments, up from $469 million in 2024.
Additionally, we exceeded our $30 billion Environmental Finance pledge, mobilized $33.4 billion since 2021 across renewable energy, green buildings, clean transportation, and environmentally linked loan products. We also achieved 100% renewable energy for purchased electricity by the end of 2025.
More accessible financial tools and solutions
We continue to innovate for customers. In 2025, we launched an enhanced online banking platform serving 11.5 million customers. Our mobile branches traveled nearly 94,000 miles, serving almost 20,000 customers in 3,449 visits coordinated by 255 community organizations. We complemented this outreach with 461 free financial education seminars designed to help participants make informed financial decisions.
We also expanded our branch network in 2025, including 26 new branches and 170 renovations that modernize the in‑branch experience while supporting local communities. This growth continues through PNC’s $2 billion investment commitment to add more than 300 new branches and 1,400 renovations over the next five years. On January 5, 2026, PNC acquired FirstBank Holding Company, expanding our presence in Colorado and Arizona.
Early childhood education to drive economic opportunity
PNC has invested in early childhood education for more than 20 years because we know education is a powerful driver of economic opportunity.
Through PNC Grow Up Great®, our signature $500 million, bilingual early childhood education initiative, we remain steadfast in our philanthropic commitment to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. Since 2004, PNC Grow Up Great has supported more than 11.5 million children through over $290 million in grants and programming. PNC employees have volunteered more than 1.3 million hours since inception, including 84,549 hours across 2,000 partner organizations in 2025.
Taking action to help close the housing affordability gap
Like education, home ownership is a powerful driver of economic opportunity and generational wealth. At a time when our country faces a clear shortage of affordable housing, we’re focused on expanding access.
In 2025, more than 40 percent of our mortgages in primary assessment area markets supported low- and moderate‑income (LMI) borrowers. In addition to homeownership, PNC also supports the development of affordable rental housing. In 2025, PNC Multifamily Capital, one of the nation’s largest syndicators of affordable rental housing, provided $4.0 billion in debt and equity to create or preserve 15,900 units of affordable rental housing across 127 properties in 31 states and Washington, D.C.
Through this work, and our insights from the Community Benefits Plan, we will continue to make meaningful investments and improvements in our communities to support housing affordability and strengthen the trust that our stakeholders place in PNC.
Talent & inclusion drive growth
Serving diverse communities requires talented employees with relevant skills, experiences and perspectives. To do so effectively, and win in the marketplace, we must recruit and retain talented employees. To support this imperative, we do not discriminate against any employee, potential or current client, supplier, or any other stakeholder, consistent with applicable laws.
Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Our 55,000-plus employees strive to elevate our business, and we are intentional in supporting their well-being. In 2025, we introduced Brilliant Thrives Here® Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to help employees and expanded learning opportunities. More than 10,500 employees have enrolled in academic programs and employees have completed 4.2 million hours of training through PNC University (PNCU). Teams also adopted generative AI platforms introduced in 2025, including Microsoft CoPilot®, to enhance productivity and support informed decision-making.
Looking forward
By advancing early education, housing access and community investment, we strengthen the communities where we live and work. Our approach to growth centers on serving communities well, earning long-term trust, and responsible expansion, including the ethical use of AI. In 2025, PNC strengthened governance for the responsible use of AI through the establishment of a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) framework and policy and continued oversight from the Responsible AI Working Group.
These efforts in 2025 represent just a snapshot of the comprehensive accomplishments detailed throughout the report, demonstrating our long-standing commitment to customers and stakeholders. It’s how we’ve prospered for more than 160 years — and it’s what we’ll continue to do in communities across the country.
What originally brought you to GoDaddy, and how has your career evolved since joining the Care organization?
I joined GoDaddy in 2016 alongside my manager – a close friend from my previous job. Before coming here, we ran the top‑performing cellphone retail store in our district, finishing that year in the top 10% of sales across the entire company. After achieving so much together, we were ready for a new challenge and excited to grow within a company known for its supportive culture and opportunities to advance. We were both hired into CDT (outbound sales in the Customer Development Team) and quickly found that GoDaddy was a company that had true potential for hitting new heights!
In 2017, I moved to inbound sales and support where I learned new skills focused in testing processes with specialty pilots and sharing my knowledge and love of training with shadowing opportunities. I was lucky to be a part of the Flying Unicorns Pilot to test the success of balancing financial incentives versus organic conversations without the stress of sales goals. I was also given the opportunity to host shadows ranging from new hires still in training to a member of the Board of Directors. It was an incredible chance to showcase my skills, demonstrate my expertise, and share my ideas and perspectives on how to drive the department’s success.
In 2018, I found the Website Design Services Department (WDS) in a “job fair” type event where other departments came to showcase the roles and responsibilities of their staff. I applied and was accepted as a Website Specialist I supporting our customer’s website builds post publish with updates and maintenance. WDS is an incredibly unique and close‑knit department, and it was in this role that I truly felt I’d found a place where I could be happy, dig in, and genuinely thrive. In the last seven years, I havedeeply loved the work and the team I’ve grown with. I moved through three different roles within WDS between 2018 and 2021, each one expanding my knowledge, sharpening my skills, and deepening my love for the website design world. These roles included managing projects of varying complexity and functionality needs, from intake, to content management, to website development, all the way through publishing. I later transitioned into an internal‑facing role during the rise of COVID, where I supported our sales teams by validating service capabilities and confirming functionality. This work helped increase WDS sales and reduce misqualifications.
In 2021, I was paired with a Team Manager who poured into developing my leadership skills. Their guidance helped me grow in ways that strengthened my passion for training, mentoring, and supporting the peers around me. I became a Lead for WDS in 2021 and immediately threw myself into developing and expanding a team of agents that we called the Jedi Council, who had the same drive to teach, guide, and grow our newly hired reps that I did in my prior roles.Their mission was to create a peer‑to‑peer training program that helped new hires quickly upskill in a department with a uniquely complex workflow. Beyond training, the Council also focused on building strong inter‑team relationships, helping new teammates gain confidence, feel supported, and establish rapport with their coworkers from day one. The Lead Role was where I started to develop myself into the manager I am today. I was given opportunities to expand my responsibilities of my role with multiple interim Team Manager stints. I found that in those stretches, I was able to test out my own unique ways of supporting those teams. Stretching myself to build up the teams, while scary at first, sparked a light in me, one I wanted to grow and carry to even greater heights.
In 2023,I was offered an interim Team Manager role with a pilot team within WDS called the Surger Initiative. This team was an open opportunity to stress test both my upskilling and support skills as well as develop my leadership skills. This team thrived because of our shared drive to meet (and exceed) our goals, and that success ultimately gave me the confidence to recognize that stepping into a permanent Team Manager role was the natural next step in my journey. And in 2024, I officially stepped in to my own Team Manager position, supporting my team dubbed the “Mollipop’s” and we have been “making the web a sweeter place one site at a time” ever since.
What skills helped you advance the fastest in your career, and which ones did you have to intentionally develop?
The skills that accelerated my career early on came naturally to me: adaptability, subject matter expertise, and relationship building. I was comfortable moving between departments—from outbound sales in CDT to inbound support to an entirely different world in Website Design Services. I didn’t stay in one lane in any of the departments; I explored, I learned quickly, and I built genuine connections with the people around me. Those relationships opened doors. People wanted to work with me, and that credibility allowed me to gain visibility and opportunity. But here’s what I discovered: those skills got me promoted, but they didn’t necessarily make me a leader. There was this moment when my mindset shifted from “I’m good at my job” to “I want to make those around me good at theirs” and with that new focus, it required learning an entirely new set of skills, and none of them came naturally to me.
I had to intentionally develop strategic thinking about workflows and systems. Early in my career, I was proud of executing well within frameworks others created. But becoming a leader meant moving from “I do this job excellently” to “how do I design systems that allow my team to excel?” That’s a fundamentally different skill. It required me to step back from the work itself and think about the structure around it. But that strategic thinking only mattered if I could also develop the emotional and interpersonal skills to lead through it. I struggled with confidence in seeing past my own perspective. Fear of failing or missing the big picture kept me from being as proactive as I needed to be. I catastrophized my mistakes, treating them as dead ends rather than learning moments. My emotions ran my thoughts in hard experiences, which meant I wasn’t emotionally available to support my peers through theirs. But as I moved through different roles over the years, with my leaders supporting my desire to learn how to be better, something shifted. I learned that failures weren’t proof I was incapable; they were information I could learn from. I did the work to process my emotions differently so I could think clearly in hard moments instead of getting stuck in shame. I became emotionally available for my team because I’d learned to be emotionally available for myself. Looking back, my natural gifts opened doors and built credibility. But my willingness to intentionally develop the harder skills—strategic thinking, emotional maturity, confidence in my perspective, and the ability to build systems instead of just executing within them—that’s what allowed me to actually lead. That’s what transformed me from someone who was good at their job into someone who could make their team good at theirs.
How do you balance experimentation with consistency when leading a customer-facing team?
I believe the key to balancing experimentation with consistency is showing up as a predictablyhonest leader, especially when things get difficult. During our WDS phase dubbed the “Incubator Test”, we attempted to blend inbound and outbound work with live transfers and scheduled appointments. It was innovative in theory, but ultimately unsustainable. Our team carried the weight of that imbalance, and burnout crept in quickly. But what I learned through those five difficult months was that consistency doesn’t mean never changing course, it means being reliably present and human while you’re navigating that change. When the “going gets tough”, my team needs to know I won’t shy away from the hard feedback or difficult conversations. I made it a point to acknowledge in every team meeting what wasn’t working and validate how our reps were genuinely struggling. By creating space for them to be vulnerable about their experiences, something unexpected happened: they started identifying not just shared struggles, but also the coping strategies and mindset shifts that were actually helping them survive. They only felt safe enough to share that with me because they knew I would consistently meet them with patience and understanding, not defensiveness. That’s where “the tough had a place to rest” before trying again.
When your team trusts that you’ll be honest about what’s working and what isn’t, and that you’ll honor their experience along the way, they’re willing to experiment the ends of the earth with you. They know you have their backs, and they’ll follow you into the next iteration with confidence. That reciprocal trust, between leader and team, is what makes both experimentation and consistency actually sustainable.
What’s your approach when a team member has the potential to grow but doesn’t yet see it in themselves?
My approach is rooted in something I learned from a very dear friend and team mate: there were people around me that believed in my potential before I believed in it myself. In 2021, I was moved onto a new WS2 team with a Team Manager who intentionally poured into developing me as a leader. That investment changed everything. I went from not seeing myself in a manager role EVER to recognizing I had the capacity to grow into one. Because of that experience, I approach my team members with the same intentionality. When I see potential in someone who doesn’t yet see it in themselves, I don’t just point it out for them to figure out what to do next, I create conditions for them to discover it and be validated that their skills are on a level they might not have realized.
I also look for opportunities to stretch people in controlled ways. When I led the Surger Initiative, I worked with a team of agents who volunteered to come support a department they had never worked in before. It took tenacity for them to answer the call for help, and to immediately jump into support a workflow completely unique to this department. Yet, when given the basics, they each took their known strengths and ran headfirst. They ultimately found a stride never seen before in WDS, closing out 40% of all tickets for the entire department at their peak. That mutual desire for success was contagious. The Surgers started believing in themselves because the environment made it safe to try, fail, and try again better. The truth is, potential doesn’t become real through acknowledgment alone. It becomes real when someone creates space for it to grow: mentorship, meaningful challenges, psychological safety, and visible belief in who they can become. That’s what I pour into my team, because I know firsthand how transformative it is when a leader sees you before you see yourself.
What aspects of GoDaddy’s company culture do you appreciate the most?
I appreciate that GoDaddy’s culture genuinely empowers working mothers to excel rather than simply survive. When I joined GoDaddy before having my two children, I didn’t imagine it would be possible to balance being the employee, person, and mother I am today. What makes the difference isn’t just the benefits on paper. It’s how the company’s support system translates into real life. As a mother managing a team and workload, I face the constant challenge of being present for my children’s important moments while meeting professional demands. GoDaddy’s flexibility and resources give me the breathing room to do both. I can be there for my kids’ day-to-day lives and create meaningful memories without sacrificing the growth and impact I want to have in my role. What truly resonates with me is that GoDaddy doesn’t view supporting working mothers as a perk that competes with business excellence. They see it as essential to it.
By investing in their employees’ wellbeing and growth as whole people, not just workers, the company creates an environment where we can lead effectively, manage our teams with authenticity, and show up as our best selves at home too.
That reciprocal investment, where the company pours into us so we can grow, transforms not just how I work, but how I live.
What’s your motto or personal mantra?
For as far back as I can remember, I have been ravenous for learning. I was homeschooled and for a handful of years, my parents would have to hide the next years school books because over the summer, I would find any book I could to learn more. I learned not only interesting (but also sometimes useless) facts, but I was able to explore parts of the world, people, places, animals, and things I never knew existed. This has brought me to find that if I “always stay curious” the answers will always become accessible.
I grew up as the oldest of 8 kids, homeschooled by my Mom, with my Dad working in a Web Dev role from home. Time spent with parents individually was a special treat and I found a way to get to have my Dad’s attention by way of puzzles. He had a multitude of puzzles strewn all around his desk, metal chained brain teasers designed to trick you out of freeing a trapped ring, wooden blocks that demanded spatial reasoning (and sometimes begging), and countless others that ranged from deceptively simple to genuinely mind-bending. He would hand me a puzzle, ask me to solve it, and go back to finishing his coding task at hand. In 10 minutes, I’d either solve the puzzle and get his acknowledgement and celebration, or get stuck and have him walk me through it. What mattered the most to me as his daughter was that look of pride on his face when he saw the giant smile on my face from learning something new from my Dad. All those times spent taught me that so much of “life is a puzzle, not a problem” and that the solution was always possible when you were willing to try, not be afraid to fail, and to learn from those around you.
Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.
ST. PAUL, Minn. and CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 6, 2026 /3BL/ – 3M and Discovery Education today announced the 10 finalists in the 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge, the nation’s premier middle school science competition. Now in its 19th year, the annual challenge invites students in fifth through eighth grade to think creatively and apply the power of STEM to develop real-world solutions.
Each of the 10 finalists receive an exclusive mentorship with a 3M scientist and at the final event in October, they have the chance to win a $25,000 grand prize and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” They will work alongside their 3M scientist mentors throughout the summer to gain hands-on experience that will advance the development of their solution.
The top 10 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists are as follows (in alphabetical order by last name):
Ahmed Abdelsalam, Cambridge, Mass., Darby Vassall Upper School, Cambridge Public Schools
Aaisha Asif, Sarasota, Fla., Pine View, Sarasota County Schools
Raji Doshi, Farmington, Conn., Talcott Mountain Academy, Private School
Aiden Jo, Houston, Texas, The Village School, Houston Independent School District
Roy Kim, Beaverton, Ore., Whitford Middle School, Beaverton School District
Arika Kundu, Shorewood, Minn., Minnetonka Middle School East, Minnetonka Public Schools
Sharvi Mahajan, San Diego, Calif., Bernardo Heights Middle School, Poway Unified School District
Millie Pradawong, Fairfax, Va., Thoreau Middle School, Fairfax County
Naboshree Santra, Oviedo, Fla., Jackson Heights Middle School, Seminole County Public Schools
“The 3M Young Scientist Challenge brings together student curiosity, scientific thinking and 3M mentorship to turn promising ideas into real solutions,” said William Brown, 3M Chairman and CEO. “3M is focused on helping these young innovators strengthen their ideas and apply science in ways that can make a meaningful impact.”
This year’s 10 finalists, aged 11 to 14, each spotted an everyday problem, developed an innovative solution, and pitched their project through a one- to two-minute entry video. Their proposals align to two of 3M’s 49 technology platforms, including Climate Tech and Safety. An esteemed group of judges, including 3M scientists and leaders in education from across the country, evaluated the entries based on creativity, scientific knowledge and communication effectiveness.
“The finalists of this year’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge prove you can be a scientist at any age,” said Brian Shaw, chief executive officer at Discovery Education. “Each remarkable student pursued their curiosity with persistence, turning an idea into an innovation. We cannot wait to see where their ideas take them.”
Next steps in the competition
Each of the 10 finalists will participate in an exclusive summer mentorship program with a 3M scientist. These mentors will provide guidance and advice to help advance each finalist’s solution. Then, on October 12-13, all 10 finalists will gather at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minn., to go head-to-head in the final interactive competition.
At this final event, each finalist will participate in a series of live challenges before presenting their final project and answering questions from a panel of judges. At the close of the competition, one finalist will be named the grand prize winner, receiving $25,000 and the title of America’s Top Young Scientist.
Previous competition winners and alumni achievements
Previous challenge finalists and 3M scientists have created solutions for a wide variety of real-world problems, including cybersecurity, coral reef health, water conservation, food safety, energy consumption, air pollution and transportation efficiency. Former America’s Top Young Scientists have given TED Talks, filed patents and founded nonprofits. In addition, a 3M Young Scientist Challenge Alumni Network was formed in fall 2022 and includes more than 100 former challenge winners, finalists and mentors, who take part in networking opportunities and more. Past honors include:
Gitanjali Rao became TIME’s first-ever Kid of the Year in 2020
Liam McCarty was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022
Heman Bekele was TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year
Learning resources for all educators and students
The 3M Young Scientist Challenge is complemented by Young Scientist Lab, a free digital resource program from 3M and Discovery Education that gives every student, regardless of background, access to standards-aligned, hands-on science experiences designed to spark curiosity and build STEM skills. Students, teachers and families of all skill levels can explore, transform and innovate the world around them. Young Scientist Lab resources are also available through Discovery Education Experience, the essential companion for engaged PreK-12 classrooms.
To learn more about the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and meet the 2026 finalists, visit YoungScientistLab.com.
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About 3M
3M (NYSE: MMM) is focused on transforming industries around the world by applying science and creating innovative, customer-focused solutions. Our multi-disciplinary team is working to solve tough customer problems by leveraging diverse technology platforms, differentiated capabilities, global footprint, and operational excellence. Discover how 3M is shaping the future at 3M.com/news.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is a global education technology leader whose innovative solutions empower educators and progress student learning. Discovery Education’s solutions have served more than 100 million students globally, supporting effective teaching and learning in 45% of U.S. K-12 schools and in 100+ countries and territories. The company’s portfolio includes award-winning core and supplemental curriculum, high-quality standards-aligned content, and AI-enabled teaching and learning tools. Solutions span math, science, literacy, social studies, and career-connected learning, including instructionally-aligned content developed through one-of-a-kind partnerships with industry leaders to bring real-world relevance into every lesson. Learn more at www.DiscoveryEducation.com.
To close its inaugural season, the AskNature Podcast features engineer and biomimic Gamelihle (Gama) Sibanda.
He takes listeners on a journey from his formative years in Zimbabwe to using the architectural wisdom of ants and termites to solve real-world flooding crises.
Tune in to Episode 6 to explore how one can take a childhood curiosity of observing insects and turn it into a global engineering framework, bringing together Indigenous knowledge, biomimicry, and the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Local organizations receive Hometown Fund support to expand access to health care, food, housing and essential services
HARTFORD, Conn., July 6, 2026 /3BL/ – The CVS Health Foundation is investing $1 million in grants through its Hometown Fund to 20 organizations that are making a difference for the Greater Hartford area every day. This year, Hometown Fund grants will support local nonprofits working to increase access to health care, address food insecurity, expand availability of stable housing and increase access to critical community services across the Greater Hartford area.
“We’re investing in Hartford nonprofits that are meeting people where they are – helping individuals and families access health care, food, stable housing and the support they need to stay healthy,” said Jenny McColloch, president of the CVS Health Foundation. “Through our Hometown Fund, we focus on communities our colleagues call home, supporting organizations that are addressing the everyday factors that shape wellbeing and making a difference in the Greater Hartford area.”
ImmaCare, one of this year’s CVS Health Foundation Hometown Fund grant recipients, is helping transform lives in Hartford by supporting individuals experiencing homelessness with more than just a place to stay. Through emergency shelter, housing assistance, and wraparound services that address mental health and substance use, ImmaCare is tackling the root causes of homelessness. This funding will help expand access to critical support, empowering more individuals to improve their health, and build a path toward long-term stability and independence.
“ImmaCare is honored to receive a Hometown Fund grant from the CVS Health Foundation,” said Teresa A. Wierbicki, director of strategic development at ImmaCare. “Flexible support like this is invaluable, allowing us to invest in strategic initiatives that strengthen our services, expand pathways to stable housing and address the increasing challenges of homelessness and housing insecurity. Together, we are creating lasting opportunities for individuals to rebuild their lives.”
From helping older adults live independently and accessing health care to ensure families don’t have to worry about their next meal, this year’s grantees reflect the strength and resilience of communities across the Greater Hartford area and their impact on community health. Alongside ImmaCare, additional recipients of the Hometown Fund in Greater Hartford include Center for Children’s Advocacy, Center for Latino Progress, Chrysalis Center, Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut, Enfield Loaves & Fishes, Forge City Works, Friendship Service Center, Hartford Health Initiative, House of Bread, Journey Home, KNOX, Malta House of Care, Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation, Northeast Neighborhood Partners, Prudence Crandall Center, Special Olympics Connecticut, St. Vincent Depaul Place Middletown, Urban League of Greater Hartford, and YWCA Hartford Region.
The Hometown Fund supports local nonprofits across Rhode Island and in the Hartford, Connecticut area — two key communities where CVS Health colleagues live and work. Through the grant program, the Foundation provides general operating support to organizations that are making a difference by expanding access to health care and addressing the everyday factors that shape people’s wellbeing, like nutritious food and housing.
The CVS Health Foundation is announcing this year’s Hometown Fund grantees as part of its continued commitment to strengthening community health across Connecticut. In 2025, CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation contributed more than $2.61 million in charitable giving across the state, alongside thousands of volunteer hours from colleagues and investments in workforce development initiatives that support local career pathways. The company also provides free health screenings through its Project Health initiative, reaching hundreds of Connecticut residents last year, while continuing to work alongside community-based organizations to address critical needs such as housing, food access, and mental health services – all part of a broader effort to improve health outcomes and expand access to care statewide.
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About The CVS Health Foundation
The CVS Health Foundation has a proud history of supporting local communities across various regions throughout the United States. The Foundation is dedicated to uniting communities to address health challenges in collaboration with a wide range of nonprofit grantees. The Foundation collaborates on programs that enhance health outcomes, with focus areas including mental well-being, healthy aging, maternal health, health impacts from extreme weather and chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It also helps lay the groundwork for a healthier future by assisting organizations that address food security and promote educational opportunities. Additionally, the CVS Health Foundation supports CVS Health colleagues by backing the causes that are most meaningful to them through its Matching Gifts, Volunteer Challenge Grants and Children of Colleague Scholarship programs.
Much of the conversation around artificial intelligence understandably focuses on models, compute power, and software innovation. Yet after participating in discussions at the Rome Conference on AI, Ethics & Governance, I came away with a growing conviction: the next chapter of AI is as much an infrastructure story as it is a technology – and, increasingly, a societal one.
As AI adoption accelerates, we are beginning to confront questions that extend beyond computing power alone. How will we generate the energy needed to support AI at scale? How will we manage increasingly concentrated heat loads? How will we use water responsibly? How will communities experience the infrastructure being built around them?
These are not secondary considerations. They are becoming core design questions.
A Moment of Choice
We have seen challenges like this before.
Over the past several decades, industries around the world have worked together to transform refrigeration systems—improving performance while significantly reducing environmental impact. That progress did not happen because of a single breakthrough. It required collaboration across manufacturers, policymakers, equipment providers, and technology developers. It required the willingness to adopt new technologies and rethink established systems.
I believe AI infrastructure is approaching a similar moment.
As chip architectures become more powerful and workloads more demanding, energy density continues to increase. That translates directly into higher heat loads, greater cooling requirements, and increasing pressure on energy and water systems.
We have reached a choice point. We can continue to incrementally adapt legacy systems, or we can rethink how the infrastructure supporting AI is designed.
Cooling is one clear example. Air cooling has served the industry well, but for the performance levels AI now requires, air alone is reaching its limits in data centers. Many operators are moving toward liquid cooling, including single-phase direct-to-chip approaches. But as rack densities continue to rise, we will need to keep moving toward more advanced solutions, including two-phase liquid cooling.
In many cases, the barrier is no longer technical feasibility. It is risk tolerance and inertia in existing infrastructure designs. Delaying adoption may feel lower risk in the short term, but it can also increase cost and complexity over time as infrastructure struggles to keep up.
That transition matters because the decision to adopt new cooling technologies can do more than support performance. It can help reduce total cost of ownership, lower energy requirements, and dramatically reduce water use.
Those outcomes matter beyond the walls of a data center. AI’s impact is experienced through electricity demand, water use, siting decisions, and the relationship between infrastructure and the communities that host it.
As AI infrastructure grows, there is also a growing expectation that the entire value chain—from technology to materials—operates responsibly. Trust will depend on performance, transparency, and responsibility advancing together.
Efficiency May Be the Most Underrated Innovation Opportunity
I suspect one of the largest opportunities over the next decade may lie in efficiency.
The opportunity is significant. Better workload allocation, smarter cooling, eliminating wasted compute, and making the most out of every electron of energy can drive meaningful efficiency gains. The challenge, however, is not technology. In many cases, the challenge is adoption.
We need to think beyond incremental improvements. The biggest gains often come when industries are willing to leapfrog to new approaches rather than continuously optimizing legacy systems.
In cooling, for example, advanced two-phase liquid cooling technologies offer opportunities to reduce energy consumption, nearly eliminate water use, reduce noise, and support significantly higher compute densities than were previously possible.
The question is not whether these technologies will play a larger role in the future, but how quickly we can scale when we know rack densities will start to exceed 500kW within 2027.
Performance and speed are often prioritized over efficiency, even when more efficient solutions exist. That is why this ultimately becomes a leadership and systems question. Do we design for performance and efficiency, so they are inseparable, or do we continue to treat them as competing priorities?
Why Policy Matters
This is also why policy discussions are increasingly important.
We know it is difficult to manage what we do not measure, and today we are not measuring the full system. Energy use is only part of the picture. Water use, land use, and community impact must also be considered if we want infrastructure that is both high-performing and resource-efficient.
The next step is better disclosure and a broader set of metrics that reflect real-world resource use and community impact. Policy can play an important role by setting clear expectations, so efficiency and transparency are built in from the start. That helps us move from a partial picture to a more complete one.
Smart policy can help establish clear expectations around efficiency, resource use, transparency, and community benefit in ways that encourage innovation while delivering better outcomes. We are already starting to see this happen. In Singapore, policymakers reopened data center development with stricter efficiency requirements, while Europe is expanding reporting requirements beyond energy consumption alone to include broader resource-use metrics.
In the United States, similar momentum is emerging through bipartisan liquid cooling legislation introduced in both the House and Senate, signaling growing recognition of the need for more efficient, next generation data center infrastructure.
In major technology transitions, progress depends on more than technical readiness. It also depends on the ability of policy, industry, and equipment manufacturers to move together. That was true in the evolution of refrigerants, and I believe it will be true as AI infrastructure evolves.
Building What Comes Next
We have seen industries navigate transitions like this before. The organizations and countries that lead are rarely the ones that wait for perfect conditions. They are the ones willing to embrace innovation, align incentives, and build for what comes next.
The decisions we make today will help determine whether AI develops on infrastructure that is merely larger—or infrastructure that is smarter, more efficient, more resilient, and better aligned with the communities it serves.
This is an opportunity worth getting right. And it will take leadership to get there.
Denise Dignam is the President and Chief Executive Office of The Chemours Company, a global chemistry company with a vision to deliver Trusted Chemistry that makes people’s lives better and helps communities thrive.
