December 8, 2025 Support Our Work: Donate Before the End of the Year When you donate to Trying Together, you become part of a community of supporters who value the work of early childhood. Your financial support ensures that Trying Together can continue to advocate for young children, develop community resources to help families thrive, and provide professional growth opportunities for educators. As 2025 draws to a close, Trying Together needs your help reaching our year-end fundraising goal. Whether you’re donating for the first time or you regularly give, your support is welcome and appreciated. Donate now. The Impact of Your Contribution Wondering about the impact your contribution may have on the lives of those we serve? Below are just a few programs and initiatives your donation supports: $100 covers CPR training for an educator $250 helps one educator complete their Child Development Associate (CDA) portfolio $500 supports an early educator complete the Child Care 101: New Hire Orientation Professional Development Series $1,000 sponsors a group day trip to Harrisburg to advocate for increased investments in early education $2,500 underwrites a site-wide training for a provider serving 40+ children Maximize Your Impact Once you’ve donated, you have the opportunity to double your donation by requesting a matching gift from your employer. The process is simple – once you make a donation, you will be prompted to check for matching gift opportunities. You simply enter your employer’s name, and the Double the Donation database will identify whether your employer has a matching gift program and determine if you are eligible. If eligible, you will be guided through the process of submitting a matching gift request to your employer. Search now to see if your employer will match your donation.
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. Learn More 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.
November 10, 2025 Will You Give Big This GivingTuesday? This GivingTuesday, Trying Together will participate in Give Big Pittsburgh, a 24-hour online fundraising effort hosted by Pittsburgh Magazine and presented by GBU Life. When you donate to Trying Together on December 2, you are part of a community of supporters who value the work of early childhood. Your financial support ensures that Trying Together can continue to advocate for young children and their caregivers, provide professional growth opportunities, and develop community resources. Will You Help Us Reach Our Goal? This year, we’ve set a goal of $5,000 — but we can’t reach that goal without your help! We encourage you to not only donate, but also to also raise money on behalf of Trying Together. Make a plan for December 2 to share with your friends and family members the important work we do, and ask them to join us in making a difference. You also have an opportunity to maximize your impact through our Double the Donation page. Simply search for your workplace and if they offer a matching gift program, you will be guided through how to submit a matching gift request. How to Give Gifts to Trying Together will be accepted on the Give Big Platform from Tuesday, Dec. 2 through Tuesday, Dec. 31. Donating to Trying Together on GivingTuesday is easy – simply complete the online donation form on the Give Big Pittsburgh platform. How Your Donation Helps When you donate to Trying Together, you are supporting a number of initiatives, including: Community-Based High School Child Development Associate (CDA) Program The Buzzword literacy initiative 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 Rapid Response Team
July 7, 2025 Trying Together, ELRC Region 5 Offering August and September Professional Development Courses Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are offering a variety of professional development opportunities for early childhood educators in August and September as the 2025-26 school year begins. Learn More Trying Together will offer Introduction to ASQ-3 on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. The course, which is free for Allegheny County providers, teaches participants how to use ASQ-3 as a screening tool for children ages 3 months to 5 years. The session provides information on why a developmental screening tool is administered for early childhood programs, how to administer and score the screener, strategies for sharing results with families of diverse backgrounds, and supporting resources for making referrals to additional services. ELRC Region 5 will hold a Supervision 101 class on Thursday, Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. This live webinar will give a foundational overview of supervision in licensed early childhood programs. The course will focus on the supervision aspects of the DHS Certification Regulations for child care in Pennsylvania. The session will also focus on ratio, scenarios, and the importance of supervision in child care. Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 will offer American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED training on Monday, Aug. 11 at 10 a.m. and Friday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. The cost is $70. Trying Together will host Introduction to ASQ:SE-2 on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees should have already taken the ASQ-3 professional development prior to this training. Attendees will learn how to use the ASQ:SE-2® as a social-emotional developmental screening tool for children ages 3 months to 5 five years. On the third Wednesday of every month, Trying Together hosts Growing Together, a professional development series focused on frequently requested topics relating to early childhood educators. The Wednesday, Aug. 20 session will be Resilience in the Classroom – What to Do When Things Fall Apart, while the Wednesday, Sept. 17 session is Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families. Both begin at 6:30 p.m. ELRC Region 5 will offer FLIP IT® on Thursday, Sept. 4. The course is a strategy that offers a simple, kind, strength-based, common sense, and effective four-step process to addressing children’s day-to-day challenging behaviors. The four steps embodied in FLIP IT are F (Feelings), L (Limits), I (Inquiries), P (Prompts).
July 2, 2025 American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED Training Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide in person and hybrid First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) trainings to early childhood professionals. About the Course This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. Certification will be issued upon successful completion of the course. This certification is valid for two years. The cost is $70. PLEASE NOTE: Successful course completion requires full participation in classroom and skill sessions, as well as successful performance in skill and knowledge evaluations. Participants will be conducting strenuous activities, such as performing CPR on the floor. If you have a medical condition or disability that will prevent you from taking part in the skills practice sessions, please let your instructor know so that accommodations can be made for the practice portion. The CPR and AED evaluations must be completed with the manikin on the ground. Information for Hybrid Sessions The online coursework for hybrid sessions must be completed prior to the in-person class. Access to the online coursework will be provided via email upon completion of registration. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to complete. We advise completing the online coursework at least 48 hours prior to your in-person course. You will need to provide proof of completion by providing a copy of your completion email either printed or on your mobile device of class in order to participate in the in-person class portion of the training. Session Details Monday, June 1 | Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Questions? For questions about the sessions, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED Training Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide in person and hybrid First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) trainings to early childhood professionals. About the Course This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. Certification will be issued upon successful completion of the course. This certification is valid for two years. The cost is $70. PLEASE NOTE: Successful course completion requires full participation in classroom and skill sessions, as well as successful performance in skill and knowledge evaluations. Participants will be conducting strenuous activities, such as performing CPR on the floor. If you have a medical condition or disability that will prevent you from taking part in the skills practice sessions, please let your instructor know so that accommodations can be made for the practice portion. The CPR and AED evaluations must be completed with the manikin on the ground. Information for Hybrid Sessions The online coursework for hybrid sessions must be completed prior to the in-person class. Access to the online coursework will be provided via email upon completion of registration. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to complete. We advise completing the online coursework at least 48 hours prior to your in-person course. You will need to provide proof of completion by providing a copy of your completion email either printed or on your mobile device of class in order to participate in the in-person class portion of the training. Session Details Saturday, May 16 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Monday, June 1 | Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Questions? For questions about the sessions, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED Training Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide in person and hybrid First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) trainings to early childhood professionals. About the Course This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. Certification will be issued upon successful completion of the course. This certification is valid for two years. The cost is $70. PLEASE NOTE: Successful course completion requires full participation in classroom and skill sessions, as well as successful performance in skill and knowledge evaluations. Participants will be conducting strenuous activities, such as performing CPR on the floor. If you have a medical condition or disability that will prevent you from taking part in the skills practice sessions, please let your instructor know so that accommodations can be made for the practice portion. The CPR and AED evaluations must be completed with the manikin on the ground. Information for Hybrid Sessions The online coursework for hybrid sessions must be completed prior to the in-person class. Access to the online coursework will be provided via email upon completion of registration. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to complete. We advise completing the online coursework at least 48 hours prior to your in-person course. You will need to provide proof of completion by providing a copy of your completion email either printed or on your mobile device of class in order to participate in the in-person class portion of the training. Session Details Saturday, March 14 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Trying Together, 5604 Solway St., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, May 16 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Monday, June 1 | Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Questions? For questions about the sessions, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED Training Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide in person and hybrid First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) trainings to early childhood professionals. About the Course This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. Certification will be issued upon successful completion of the course. This certification is valid for two years. The cost is $70. PLEASE NOTE: Successful course completion requires full participation in classroom and skill sessions, as well as successful performance in skill and knowledge evaluations. Participants will be conducting strenuous activities, such as performing CPR on the floor. If you have a medical condition or disability that will prevent you from taking part in the skills practice sessions, please let your instructor know so that accommodations can be made for the practice portion. The CPR and AED evaluations must be completed with the manikin on the ground. Information for Hybrid Sessions The online coursework for hybrid sessions must be completed prior to the in-person class. Access to the online coursework will be provided via email upon completion of registration. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to complete. We advise completing the online coursework at least 48 hours prior to your in-person course. You will need to provide proof of completion by providing a copy of your completion email either printed or on your mobile device of class in order to participate in the in-person class portion of the training. Session Details Tuesday, Feb. 24 | Hybrid | 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, March 14 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Trying Together, 5604 Solway St., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, May 16 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Monday, June 1 | Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Questions? For questions about the sessions, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED Training – Hybrid Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide in person and hybrid First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) trainings to early childhood professionals. About the Course This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. Certification will be issued upon successful completion of the course. This certification is valid for two years. The cost is $70. PLEASE NOTE: Successful course completion requires full participation in classroom and skill sessions, as well as successful performance in skill and knowledge evaluations. Participants will be conducting strenuous activities, such as performing CPR on the floor. If you have a medical condition or disability that will prevent you from taking part in the skills practice sessions, please let your instructor know so that accommodations can be made for the practice portion. The CPR and AED evaluations must be completed with the manikin on the ground. Information for Hybrid Sessions The online coursework for hybrid sessions must be completed prior to the in-person class. Access to the online coursework will be provided via email upon completion of registration. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to complete. We advise completing the online coursework at least 48 hours prior to your in-person course. You will need to provide proof of completion by providing a copy of your completion email either printed or on your mobile device of class in order to participate in the in-person class portion of the training. Session Details Thursday, Jan. 15 | Hybrid | 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. HeartPrints, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive #1227, Room 2219, Cranberry Township Register Cost: $70 Tuesday, Feb. 24 | Hybrid | 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, March 14 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Trying Together, 5604 Solway St., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, May 16 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Monday, June 1 | Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Questions? For questions about the sessions, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
American Red Cross First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED Training Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide in person and hybrid First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) trainings to early childhood professionals. About the Course This PQAS-certified in-person course provides life-saving skills in alliance with The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s Best Practices for Workplace First Aid Training Programs. Certification will be issued upon successful completion of the course. This certification is valid for two years. The cost is $70. PLEASE NOTE: Successful course completion requires full participation in classroom and skill sessions, as well as successful performance in skill and knowledge evaluations. Participants will be conducting strenuous activities, such as performing CPR on the floor. If you have a medical condition or disability that will prevent you from taking part in the skills practice sessions, please let your instructor know so that accommodations can be made for the practice portion. The CPR and AED evaluations must be completed with the manikin on the ground. Information for Hybrid Sessions The online coursework for hybrid sessions must be completed prior to the in-person class. Access to the online coursework will be provided via email upon completion of registration. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to complete. We advise completing the online coursework at least 48 hours prior to your in-person course. You will need to provide proof of completion by providing a copy of your completion email either printed or on your mobile device of class in order to participate in the in-person class portion of the training. Session Details Wednesday, Nov. 12| Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Thursday, Jan. 15 | Hybrid | 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. HeartPrints, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive #1227, Room 2219, Cranberry Township Register Cost: $70 Tuesday, Feb. 24 | Hybrid | 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, March 14 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Trying Together, 5604 Solway St., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Saturday, May 16 | Full Class | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Elizabeth Seton Center (Brookline), 1900 Pioneer Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Monday, June 1 | Hybrid | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pitt CEC-Homewood, 622 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh Register Cost: $70 Questions? For questions about the sessions, contact Amanda Murphy at amanda@tryingtogether.org.
