About Us

Vision

Trying Together envisions a future in which all caregivers feel valued.

Mission

Trying Together supports high-quality care and education for young children by providing advocacy, community resources, and professional growth opportunities for the needs and rights of children, their families, and the individuals who interact with them. Trying Together works regionally (in Southwestern Pennsylvania) and takes its expertise and models to statewide and national audiences.

Quote by Fred Rogers

We need to remember that children are trying, too—trying to understand their feelings and their world, trying to please the people they love, trying to grow. When grownups and children are trying together, just about anything can be possible.

Fred Rogers

This quote from Mister Rogers acknowledges the hard work that goes into being a caregiver for young children, and how hard those same children are working to develop and learn.

When Trying Together collaborates with early care and education professionals, families, and other individuals to advocate together, partner together, and learn together, we create a future in which caregivers feel valued; children have access to high-quality, early learning environments; and families have the resources they need to support their children’s early learning experiences.

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History

1963

Early care and education professionals volunteer to create the Pittsburgh Area Preschool Association (P.A.P.A.).

1983

P.A.P.A. affiliates with the National Association for The Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and becomes The Pittsburgh Association for The Education of Young Children (PAEYC).

2000

PAEYC moves from a volunteer to staffed model.

2013

The Homewood Early Learning Hub opens and the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is co-founded with the Carnegie Museum of Art and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

2016

PAEYC becomes lead organization for Homewood-Brushton Family Support Center.

2017

Five-year strategic plan and rebrand approved by PAEYC Board of Directors. PAEYC partners with The Pennsylvania Association of Young Children (PennAEYC) to support the Pittsburgh Chapter of PennAEYC.

2018

PAEYC rebrands as Trying Together. Helps to qualify The Allegheny County Children’s Fund Initiative as a ballot referendum, the first to be added as a result of collecting petition signatures.

2019

Trying Together becomes an advisor for the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group. ELRC Region 5 launches in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers, and Trying Together.

2020

  • Allegheny Child Care finder tool developed to assist families with finding and caregivers with promoting care and education programs for children. Developmentally Appropriate Parenting (DAP) Series released to support families in making early learning decisions for their children. Homewood locations merge to become The Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center.
  • In support of its newest strategic goal to directly support families, Trying Together launches the first three parts of the initial 12-part Developmentally Appropriate Parenting (DAP) Resource Series to aid families in making well-informed decisions about their child’s early experiences.
  • Trying Together begins to use NeonCRM to build relationships, record data, and support continuous quality improvement of its resources and services.

2021

  • Building on its commitment to racial justice, Trying Together establishes the Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) Committee to meet regularly and guide the work of staff and the organization.
  • Trying Together launches the Parenting Together Pathway videos to provide high-quality information on early childhood topics for caregivers.
  • Allegheny County establishes the Department of Children’s Initiatives (DCI), created from the recommendations of the Allegheny County Children’s Working Fund Group Report.
  • Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 collaborate with community partners to establish the Rapid Response Team in Allegheny County to provide immediate support to children who are in danger of being suspended or expelled from their early childhood program.

2022

Trying Together conducts an audit of its fundraising and develops an annual giving plan.
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