Trying Together has selected Donna Shriver, owner of SmartKids Child Care & Learning Center in Washington, as its May advocate of the month.
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Shriver, a long-time advocate for early childhood education, celebrated 30 years of providing high-quality child care in April. This past year, she partnered with Early Learning PA and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-46th) for an event at SmartKids and worked with Washington County commissioners on the Washington County Proclamation on Child Care.
“I didn’t become an advocate for children by accident,” she said. “I became one because I saw what was at stake. Early on, I realized that child care isn’t just about supervision – it’s about shaping lives. It is where confidence begins, where curiosity is nurtured, and where a child feels safe, valued, and cared for.”
But she said she also witnessed the struggles that families have in finding child care, how educators work tirelessly but do not get the recognition they deserve, and that children need more support than they receive.
“When we invest early on in a child’s life, we change their future,” she said. “Advocacy, for me, is a responsibility – a way for me to speak up for people who can’t speak up for themselves. It’s a way to push for better standards, better support for educators, and better access for every family.”
