News

May 4, 2026

Report Details Trying Together’s Participation in Child Care Sector Quality Initiative

Shift Work Forward – a national organization aimed at redesigning workforce systems to advance racial equity and improve job quality – recently released a report on the national crisis facing the child care sector and the work done in four communities that focused on the workforce.

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The report, Breaking the Triple Bind: How Worker-Centered Solutions are Transforming Childcare, details the partnerships between Shift Work Forward and organizations from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Akron, and Des Moines. As part of the Shifting the Childcare Industry initiative, local partners worked in their communities to build or strengthen cross-sector coalitions that took on a shared challenge: improving job quality in childcare by centering the people who do the work.

Each community involved in the initiative approached it from a different starting point and pursued a different intervention that was shaped by local conditions.

Trying Together was part of a tri-sector coalition in Pittsburgh that also included Partner 4 Work and the Allegheny Department of Children Initiatives. This coalition focused on educator mental health and co-designed workplace-based supports to improve teacher retention and job quality.

During the project, 168 frontline educators across 10 Pittsburgh programs shared their experiences, providing data for the initiative and helping to shape its direction. These educators identified mental health support as the priority.

The Pittsburgh organizations launched mental health supports with a shared coach across 14 centers and co-created an onboarding passport that standardized onboarding and aimed to ensure that new hires felt capable and confident in doing their jobs.

The coalition also created a Wellness Navigation model designed around how workers experience stress, burnout, and other mental health concerns on the job that was piloted by eight child care centers that embedded mental health support directly into child care workplaces.

Each participating program chose an educator to serve as a wellness navigation champion – a peer who was trained and compensated for their time. Champions provided support to their colleagues, helping them navigate wellness resources and connect to the type of help they needed. The local coalition also partnered with a licensed therapist to develop on-demand, one-on-one mental health coaching support through a team of practitioners for early educators.

“We ask educators to hold so much – children’s emotions, families’ stress, systems that are under-resourced,” explained Cara Ciminillo, executive director for Trying Together. “This project starts with a simple truth: If we want children to thrive, we have to care for the health of the people who care for them.”

Shift Work Forward supported the coalition through the process with equity-centered coaching and technical assistance that helped the partners navigate their differences and stay focused on job quality as the through-line from design to implementation.

To learn more about the initiative and the work that was accomplished by the Pittsburgh coalition, read Shift Work Forward’s report.

News

May 1, 2026

Trying Together Honors Early Educators at Annual Celebration Event

Nearly 800 early educators, community leaders, and supporters came together for an evening of joy and recognition at Trying Together’s annual celebration event.

Held April 30 at Rivers Casino, Celebrating Together honored and uplifted the work of early childhood education. The event included a new pre-dinner reception to present the inaugural Keystone Award for Early Childhood Advocacy, followed by the 30th Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators Dinner.

Keystone Award for Early Childhood Advocacy

Celebrating Together kicked off with a reception to present the inaugural Keystone Award for Early Childhood Advocacy to the Shapiro-Davis Administration, in recognition of its historic investments in the early childhood workforce.

Local policymakers and community leaders delivered remarks touting the critical role early childhood educators play in supporting not just the growth and development of young children, but also the economic success of our region and state.

In her remarks, Pittsburgh First Lady Katie O’Connor urged greater support for early childhood educators, saying, “We must provide them with the advocacy, the resources, and the professional growth opportunities that they deserve.”

Stacy Juchno, corporate responsibility officer for PNC, emphasized the importance of community partnerships.

“Gatherings like this remind me of the lasting change that happens through relationships,” she said. “It happens when public, private, and nonprofit partners choose to work closely together to build trust over time and commit to long-term solutions.”

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamarato rounded out remarks by sharing an optimistic and family-forward vision for the future of the county.

Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo then presented the award, which was accepted by Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis on behalf of the Shapiro-Davis administration.

Davis expressed his gratitude for the work of early childhood educators.

“I want to thank you on behalf of our entire administration […] for all the work that you do,” he said. “We are humbled and honored to carry this every single day and make progress for our most precious resource – our children.”

Celebrating Together

The 30th Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators Dinner included a sit-down meal and numerous activities.

Before dinner began, Ciminillo welcomed early childhood educators, thanking them for the work they do.

“Let this evening be a reminder that you matter,” she said. “The care you give matters. And a society that truly values its children must first value those who care for them. Thank you for all that you do, and please enjoy your night of celebration – you deserve it!”

Ciminillo expressed appreciation for the sponsors that helped to make Celebrating Together happen before introducing Dr. Kendra Ross, head of purpose and experiences at Duolingo.

Dr. Ross recognized Trying Together as one of Duolingo’s Social Impact team’s earliest and most trusted partners, helping them reach families and providers in Pittsburgh at the very start of a child’s learning journey. Ross also thanked those gathered.

“Tonight is a celebration of the people who hold that trust every single day – you, the educators in this room,” she said. “You are not just doing a job. You are building the foundation on which everything else stands.”

Allegheny County District 3 Council Representative Lissa Geiger Shulman concluded remarks by presenting a proclamation that declared April the Month of the Young Child.

Following remarks, guests were free to spend the rest of the evening eating, dancing to music provided by BMW entertainment, and participating in the activities around the event space. Photo opportunities included photobooths of three different styles, a shimmer wall, lighted signs, and balloon arches.

Each attendee had the opportunity to assemble a vase at the flower station, while the policy team led a friendship bracelet-making activity. Guests were also given tickets for a chance to win one of 74 register-to-win baskets.

Thank you to our sponsors for your generous support!

Premier
Duolingo
ELRC Region 5

Supporting
PNC
The Grable Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
University of Pittsburgh
UPMC
AT&T
Highmark Health

Advocate

Carlow University
Early Childhood Funders Alliance
Champion
Allegheny Conference

News

December 3, 2025

Trying Together Surpasses Fundraising Goals for Give Big Pittsburgh

Thanks to the generous support of donors, Trying Together exceeded its fundraising goal for Give Big Pittsburgh, a 24-hour online fundraising effort held on GivingTuesday that was hosted by Pittsburgh Magazine and presented by GBU Life.

The organization’s goal for the day was $5,000, but ultimately raised $7,180.

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The donation form will remain open until the end of the year, but individuals who want to make a year-end donation can do so on Trying Together’s website.

Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director, said that donations made on GivingTuesday will help to further the organization’s mission of ensuring that every child has quality early care and education.

“Thank you to those who donated through Give Big Pittsburgh on GivingTuesday,” she said. “Every gift, whether big or small, fuels this work. And every dollar moves our community closer to the care system children deserve. I’m incredibly fortunate to lead an organization filled with people who show up every day for children, families, and early educators across Southwestern Pennsylvania. We believe in a future where every child has access to affordable, high-quality care and education – and where the educators who make that possible are valued, supported, and fairly compensated.”

Double Your Donation

Donors can double their donation if their employer has a matching gift program. Once an individual makes a donation, they will be prompted to check for matching gift opportunities.

They will be prompted to enter their employer’s name and the Double the Donation database will identify whether the employer has a matching gift program and determine if the donor was eligible.

If eligible, the donor is guided through the process of submitting a matching gift request to their employer.

How Donations Help

Individuals who donate to Trying Together are helping to support a number of initiatives, including:

Community-Based High School Child Development (CDA) Program
Buzzword literacy initiative
Rapid Response Team
Developmentally Appropriate Parenting (DAP) Resources series
Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center Diaper & Formula Banks
Institute for Early Childhood Career Pathways
Pediatric First Aid/CPR Facilitation and Instruction
Home-Based Child Care Business Cohort

To learn of other giving opportunities, visit Trying Together’s Give Now page.

News

November 20, 2025

PA Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women Hosts Discussion on Child Care Crisis

The Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women hosted a virtual discussion earlier this week between business and government leaders and child care advocates about the state’s child care crisis.

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The discussion – which took place on Monday – focused on the ongoing child care crisis, which has forced many parents to leave the workforce due to the lack of access to affordable child care.

“Ensuring affordable, high-quality child care depends on bold, ongoing investment in the educators who power our commonwealth,” said Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director. “Early educators are the workforce behind every thriving community. By continuing to invest in them, Pennsylvania can strengthen its economy, support families, and build a child care system that positions our state for long-term prosperity.”

The topics focused on during the discussion – which included Trying Together and various other organizations – will inform the commission’s future recommendations to the Shapiro Administration.

Gov. Josh Shapiro recently signed the state budget, which secured the following investments in child care:

$25 million for a new Child Care Staff Retention and Recruitment Program, providing about $450 per employee annually to licensed Child Care Works providers
A $7.5 million increase in Pre-K Counts rates, enabling providers to raise wages and stabilize the early educator workforce
Continued support for the Employer Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, which encourages businesses to help employees cover child care costs, and the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit for working families
A $10 million increase for Early Intervention to provide coaching support and services to families and children with developmental delays and disabilities

“Child care and the early learning professionals who make this work possible play an important role in supporting child development and fueling our economy,” said Shante Brown, deputy secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). “Our child care workforce makes it possible for parents to go to work knowing their children are learning and growing in an enriching, caring environment.”

News

November 10, 2025

Trying Together Exec Director to Participate in Discussion on How Child Care Shapes PA Economy

Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo will take part in an upcoming virtual discussion on how child care shapes Pennsylvania’s economy.

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The state Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women will host a virtual discussion on Monday, November 17 on child care’s role in Pennsylvania’s economy.

The event will be a candid conversation featuring participants from business and economic development, state government, and child care advocacy. It will explore the workforce, policy, and cultural shifts needed to strengthen child care in Pennsylvania.

The state is currently facing a child care crisis that affects every sector of its economy. Due to a shortage of 3,000 child care positions affecting care for more than 25,000 children, families are being forced to choose between cutting work hours or leaving the workforce entirely.

Since nearly 70% of children have working parents and 95% of child care workers are women, the issue is deeply intertwined with women’s economic opportunity.

The virtual discussion will focus on identifying the problem and shaping solutions that help families, employers, and the economy.

Panelists include Ciminillo; Shante Brown, the deputy secretary of the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL); Alex Halper, senior vice president of government affairs for the PA Chamber of Business and Industry; and Kevin Schreiber, president and CEO of the York County Economic Alliance.

Tracy Lawless – government affairs counselor for K&L Gates and chairwoman of the Women in the Workforce Subcommittee of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Women – will be the moderator.

Those interested in attending can RSVP online.

News

November 3, 2025

From Cradle to Career: How Child Care Shapes Pennsylvania’s Economy

The state Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women will host a virtual discussion on Monday, November 17 on how child care helps to shape Pennsylvania’s economy.

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Panelists include Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo and Shante Brown, the deputy secretary of the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), among others.

The discussion will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Those interested can RSVP online.

News

October 28, 2025

Trying Together Exec Director Touts Importance of Early Childhood Education at Business Solves Conference

Trying Together’s executive director discussed the importance of early childhood education during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Solves conference on October 28.

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Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director, joined Mark Bezilla, vice president and manager of corporate volunteerism at PNC Bank, and Brittany Scott, senior manager of policy and childhood education at the chamber, to discuss Trying Together’s partnership with the bank.

During the partnership spotlight – titled Creating Systems-Level Change for Children – both Ciminillo and Bezilla discussed why early childhood education is critical to the workforce.

“We see child care as a structure just as a bridge is to a city,” Ciminillo said. “In Pennsylvania, more than 75 chambers of commerce have endorsed child care as a top priority.”

Ciminillo cited a study in Washington County that found that a shortage of more than 1,500 child care slots resulted in $5 million in lost productivity for the county’s workforce. She added that early childhood education is an “infrastructure for the economy” because it allows parents to remain in the workforce.

Ciminillo and Bezillo discussed how Trying Together and PNC Bank have partnered on various initiatives, from financial management courses to helping to build early childhood education kits at Trying Together’s office.

She also talked about the areas in which Trying Together works in the early childhood education field.

“Our work spans two areas – direct support to the caregiving community and the developmental needs of children and family through professional development, coaching, behavioral health consultation, and child care navigation tools, and advocacy and system change by partnering with philanthropy, government and the business community to help bring about long-term policy solutions,” she said. “Child care is the workforce behind the workforce. It’s what helps us have a thriving economy.”

To listen to the entire discussion, watch the 2025 Business Solves Conference Day 1.

News

October 15, 2025

Trying Together Exec Director to Take Part in Webinar on Child Care Crisis and Jobs

Trying Together’s executive director will take part in an upcoming National Fund for Workforce Solutions webinar on job quality and the child care crisis.

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Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director, will take part in a panel during the webinar, which will run from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 6.

The webinar will discuss how child care is prohibitively expensive for many parents of young children in the United States, often costing nearly as much as their rent or mortgage payments.

This makes child care a workforce issue as companies struggle to keep parents who are otherwise in their prime working years on payroll.

Meanwhile, for structural reasons it can be hard to ensure quality jobs for early childhood educators as companies in that industry face high costs and tight margins.

The panel discussion will focus on how individuals are navigating the tangled challenges of child care and the workforce. Ciminillo will join Bonny Yeager, senior manager of industry solutions at Partner4Work, on the first panel.

Then, attendees will hear from employers who are innovating in the child care space, including offering subsidized care for their employees, and organizing across municipalities and states to solve this challenging problem. Panelists include representatives from Boston Children’s HOspital, the University of Vermont’s Health Network, and the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education.

Those interested in attending can register online.

News

June 17, 2025

Trying Together Exec Director Featured on Women and Girls Foundation Podcast

Trying Together’s executive director recently discussed the organization’s mission and the need for an increase in early childhood education workers’ wages on the Women and Girls Foundation podcast.

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The podcast, led by host Camila Rivera-Tinsley, frequently features guests who are “working toward a more equitable future” and tackles such topics as gender, racial, and environmental justice.

In a recent episode, Tinsley discussed issues surrounding early child care – from parents seeking child care for their children so they can work to those employed in the field in need of higher wages – with Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director.

On the podcast, Ciminillo talks about how she got involved in early childhood education, April’s Month of the Young Child, the origin of Trying Together’s name, and the organization’s advocacy efforts during the state budget season.

Ciminillo talked about how early childhood education is an overwhelmingly women-led field.

“Probably about 96 percent of all early learning experiences and child care experiences are led by and provided by women,” she said. “It is a women-led field and has a high number of women of color who lead the work in this industry. They are brain builders.”

Ciminillo said the success of many of the state’s industries is tied to whether communities provide adequate child care options. She added that the state’s early childhood education teacher shortage is caused by the industry’s low wages.

“If you want to solve (the problems of) an industry’s workforce, you have to solve for the child care workforce,” she said. “It’s very much a challenge in terms of our collective economic mobility if we don’t solve the economics of child care and the wages they make.”

To learn more, watch Ciminillo and Rivera-Tinsley discuss early childhood education on the Women and Girls Foundation podcast.

News

June 4, 2025

Trying Together Exec Director Discusses Your Career, Our Future on Yinz Are Good Podcast

Trying Together’s executive director discussed the Your Career, Our Future campaign alongside the Early Excellence Project on Yinz are Good’s latest podcast.

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Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director, joined Dr. DaVonna Shannon, director of research and impact for the Early Excellence Project, to discuss the initiative with Yinz are Good host Tressa Glover. The Early Excellence Project champions Black and Brown child care providers by fostering equality, equity, and accessibility in early childhood education.

Ciminillo and Shannon discussed how the Your Career, Our Future campaign has collected stories from early educators and families in the Pittsburgh region with the intention that their shared experiences will inspire more people to answer the call to become early educators.

Making Educators the Centerpiece

The campaign centers around 15 educators and parents, who relay their positive experiences with the early childhood education field. Ciminillo cited several stories from the campaign. One educator entered the the profession at a young age and rose from being a classroom aide to an executive director. Another was a stay-at-home father who become a classroom educator due to his interest in understanding how his child was developing.

“We’re always trying to center the educator,” Ciminillo said. “They are exemplars of people coming into the field. We ask how we can help others to see themselves in these stories to draw other people to the field. You need to help people see what opportunities exist, so making provider stories the centerpiece is important.”

A Need for Investment

Ciminillo and Shannon said the campaign aims to combat an ongoing early educator shortage that has resulted in repercussions for businesses, the economy, and local communities.

“One of the pain points that we’ve heard frequently – it predated COVID and was exacerbated after COVID – is that child care programs are struggling with staffing,” Ciminillo said. “We are a field where wages are suppressed and the reason why is that families can’t pay more. Child care is expensive and it’s a regulated system; it’s based on a child-to-staff ratio. The public system has not invested enough to alleviate that problem.”

Ciminillo said that this lack of investment in early childhood education has resulted in low wages for teachers and, in turn, teachers leaving the profession as well as challenges in recruiting and retaining them.

“What happens is that providers subsidize (a lack of funding) with their own wages,” she said. “As a result, you’re not getting as much interest in going into the field as other fields that are higher income-generating.”

Ciminillo noted that many early childhood educators were making just over $9 per hour prior to COVID-19, but are now earning an average $15. However, she said wages will need to continue to rise due to the profession’s often challenging nature. She said the job’s primary focus is “brain building.”

Shannon added that part of the Your Career, Our Future campaign involves letting families know that early childhood education is not “babysitting.”

“Children are developing in these early childhood programs, which are very high-quality,” she said. “The message to employers is: If you don’t know how to invest in early childhood education, you will lose staff. People won’t be able to work if they can’t afford child care.”

To listen to the entire interview, “Episode 168: Trying Together & Early Excellence Project’s Your Career, Our Future Campaign,” visit the Yinz are Good podcast’s website.