2024 Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators Dinner

Join Trying Together and your early care and education colleagues to celebrate the work you do for young children and families. Guests will enjoy dinner, a photo booth, prizes.

Shante’ Brown, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) will be the keynote speaker at the event. 

Event Details

When

Thursday, April 25, 2024
6:00 – 8:30 p.m. 

Where

Acrisure Stadium, UPMC Club
100 Art Rooney Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Free parking in Gold Lot 1 (W. General Robinson Street) will be available for guests.

Cost

Individual tickets: $15 

Groups of 10 may reserve a table* at a discounted rate of $135.
*Please Note: If you are purchasing a table, you will be required to input each attendee’s full name and email address during the registration process.

Trying Together aims to make attending the Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators Dinner equitable for all attendees. The standard ticket price is set at $15 and tables of 10 are set at a discounted rate of $135 to ensure accessibility. We encourage registrants to consider the value of each ticket and table – $140 and $1,400, respectively – and contribute more if they are willing and able to do so. Your additional contribution will help support our dinner and enhance the experience of all attendees. We thank you for your generosity and for the additional support.

Purchase Tickets

Please note the event is now full. For questions or assistance, please email info@tryingtogether.org.

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Dress Code

While we have never had a formal dress code for this event, many have used it as an opportunity to dress up. We recognize that many people will be coming from work directly to the event. For this reason, please dress in what is most comfortable and convenient for you!

Recognize an early childhood educator 

New this year, individuals can recognize the early childhood caregivers in their life.  Businesses, organizations, and individuals can purchase full-color advertisements to appear in the 2024 Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators Dinner program book. Want to honor an early childhood educator? Add their name to the Recognition List in the program book

Sponsorship

Sponsorship packages are available for the dinner for the first time this year. If you’re interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities or donating raffle items or baskets, please contact Kerry May, Assistant Director of Development, at kerry@tryingtogether.org or 412.206.1053.

Keynote Speaker

Shante’ A. Brown is a dedicated early childhood education leader with over a decade of experience in leading child care programs. She believes in connecting people to resources and building strong community relationships. Shante’ began her career with the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) in 2021 as the director for the Bureau of Certification Services.  She has served as a leader in multiple positions within Philadelphia including Director of PHLpreK, Philadelphia’s city-funded PreK Initiative, Education Field Administrator Early Childhood Coach, and PreK teacher with the School District of Philadelphia.

Shante’ holds a B.S.Ed. in Early Childhood – Elementary Education, M.S. in Reading Education, and an Ed.S. in Teacher Leadership. She is a genuine advocate for the field, and committed to positive outcomes for children, families, and providers in the state of Pennsylvania.