We are increasingly blown away that our corporate partners and schools enter into other forms of collaboration, going above and beyond their Chapter One relationships! Our longstanding Silver Partner T. Rowe Price recently hosted a special event at its London office for the children from Drayton Park Primary School in Islington, London, combining creative activities, games, gifts and a special tour of St Paul's Cathedral.

The day began with the reading of a book donated by T. Rowe Price to the children at Drayton Park, followed by a game of Simon Says, hosted by Namra Nawaz, T. Rowe Price's volunteer coordinator and an online reading volunteer. The children then made bookmarks alongside their volunteers, before receiving a goodie bag containing a spelling game, a T. Rowe Price robot and a football book—and, of course, there was some robot racing!

After the office visit, the children and their volunteers walked across to St Paul's Cathedral for a guided tour.

Katy Bates, Year 3 Class Teacher, Drayton Park Primary School, said: "The team at T. Rowe Price have been absolutely wonderful this year. They have been so attentive, supportive, and encouraging with the children throughout the Chapter One programme. The children genuinely look forward to their Chapter One sessions each week, and for many of them, it has been the highlight of their day. We have seen a noticeable improvement in both their reading ability and their confidence, which has been wonderful to witness. It was also fantastic to meet the team in person during their visit last half term. The children came away feeling inspired and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the volunteers who had supported them throughout the year. It made the experience even more meaningful to put faces to the names they had come to know so well. Thank you all for your hard work, commitment, and kindness. Your support has made a real difference to our children, and we are incredibly grateful."

We were proud to recognise T. Rowe Price at our Annual Partner, Volunteer and School Awards 2026, where it was short-listed for our Above and Beyond Award for the visit.

Mandy Maskell, Director of Global Community Investment, said: "We are proud to be Silver Partners of Chapter One, and each year, we consistently receive wonderful feedback from our volunteers. This year, after years of providing coordination support, I had the pleasure of volunteering myself. Despite a slightly bumpy start, it quickly became the best 30 minutes of my week. I built a lovely relationship with my reading student, who has since progressed by three reading levels. It has been an incredibly fulfilling experience, and I plan to continue volunteering every year. Reading is such a fundamental skill, and being able to support a child who is struggling to build that foundation is an amazing feeling."

In 2025–2026, T. Rowe Price volunteers have supported 21 children with 189 hours of one-to-one reading support—that’s 757 stories shared! Thank you, T. Rowe Price, for joining us on our journey to One Million Stories by 2030.