ABOUT US
Grown from seed money provided by his family trust, Roland Harvey founded Arbor Dog in order to support underserved communities in Baltimore. The Foundation is his expansion upon his parents’ educational philanthropy into the areas of employment opportunities and environmental concerns. He is passionate about making Baltimore better for residents of all ages.
Roland Harvey, Founder, CEO
Born and raised here, Roland Harvey is deeply rooted in Baltimore. His parents taught him the importance of giving back to the community, with a focus on providing outstanding educational opportunities to children who might otherwise not have them.
Roland’s company, Natural Concerns Landscape Contractors has always been active in the community and has donated it's services to various non-profits and other worthy causes including Sheppard-Pratt Hospital, Back on My Feet, and The House of Ruth. He walks the walk when it comes to providing employment opportunities through Natural Concerns Landscape Contractors by maintaining outreach with such groups as THREAD and has successfully hired, trained (and most importantly) retained Baltimore residents from disadvantaged backgrounds.
By opening up opportunities for donors, Roland is committed to expanding these efforts by providing even more funding to partner organizations doing great work in Baltimore.
Ericka Mour, Executive Director
“I love Baltimore because I can enjoy the benefits of a big city that still feels like a small town. Its called Smalltimore for a reason: if you don’t know someone, you probably know someone who is connected to them.”
As a single parent, Ericka had first hand experience with the giving nature of her friends and neighbors. The parents of her son’s best friend continuously treated her son to experiences that Ericka could not afford such as summer camps and vacations. When she asked them why they were so willing to do this they replied, “If we donate money to a non-profit there is no guarantee our money will be put to use in the ways we intend, but if we pay for your son to have these experiences that’s the best donation we can make.” This explanation was exactly why she joined Arbor Dog Foundation – she wanted to make sure that people know exactly where their money is being spent.
Ericka feels strongly that when the immediate needs of Baltimore’s residents, such as food, shelter, employment and education are met, families and communities are healthier and crime rates go down. Additionally, she wants both children and adults to be free to imagine their own potential, self worth, and identity rather struggling for basic survival.
Where did the name Arbor Dog come from?
Roland Harvey is, at heart, a gardener. He makes things grow. An arbor is a shady garden alcove with sides and a roof formed by trees or climbing plants trained over a wooden framework. It is also the term for the axle of a wheel. Either one of these definitions can be applied to Arbor Dog. Arbor Dog acts as a foundation to support good things growing in Baltimore. As an axel, Arbor Dog connects organizations to get things in motion.
What about the Dog part of Arbor Dog? Roland loves dogs and once upon a time had a Lab named Arbor who would go to work with him at Natural Concerns. Good dogs find a way into your heart through their unconditional love…what could be better?