February 18, 2026 Trying Together Names Solid Foundations Academy Owner as Advocate of the Month Trying Together has named Beth Rupert, owner of Solid Foundations Academy, as its February 2026 Advocate of the Month. Learn More The Advocate of the Month award goes to providers who demonstrate exceptional commitment, compassion, and leadership in the field of early childhood education. Trying Together chose Rupert because of her unique combination of experience, vision, and public influence in the field of early education. Rupert has worked with children and families in psychiatry for more than 15 years and she understands how early experiences shape lifelong outcomes. Her background as a caregiver, educator, and advocate reflects a lifelong commitment to supporting children and families. “Early childhood education isn’t just child care or preschool – it’s the foundation of who we become, how we learn, and how we truly see ourselves,” Rupert said. “It’s where confidence is built or broken, where curiosity is nurtured or silenced, and where inequity often begins. Potential isn’t enough without the right support at the right time.” Rupert is currently starting an education movement focused on the benefits of quality early childhood education. She has been featured on multiple podcasts to discuss the need for systemic change in the broken education system. Her ongoing advocacy with Trying Together and her pursuit of a doctorate in education demonstrates her dedication to advancing the field. “Families depend on early childhood education, so they can go to work, provide for their family, build stability, and give their children the strong educational start they deserve,” Rupert said. “Early childhood education is the backbone of our country. When we get the beginning right, we change everything that comes after.” April Advocacy Blitz Are you interested in an advocacy opportunity with Trying Together to use your voice as an early childhood champion? Join us for our April Advocacy Blitz, which is designed to elevate your voice in the field and encourage Pennsylvania’s General Assembly to prioritize continued funding that elevates the field of early care and education.
February 13, 2026 Request MOYC Materials for Your Early Learning Program Trying Together is offering child care programs the opportunity to receive Month of the Young Child (MOYC) materials. Learn More Programs may request a mailed box of materials related to MOYC – which is observed in April – including: Posters to display at their program location or to give to local businesses to promote the importance of child care in the community Buttons for staff and families to wear during the month of April Printed materials and resources from Trying Together and ERLC Region 5 An activity Fun surprises Materials are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last, and boxes are limited to one per program. Those interested in receiving a box should fill out the request form. Programs can expect to receive their boxes before the beginning of April. MOYC boxes are reserved for programs in the following Southwestern Pennsylvania counties – Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland.
February 9, 2026 2026 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community The Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community is an annual fundraising walk that benefits local health and human service agencies. The 2026 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community is scheduled for Saturday, May 30 at Point State Park. Registration opens at 7:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the walk begins at 9:00 a.m. If you’re interested in supporting the work of early childhood, walk with Trying Together! Registered walkers will have the option to sign up as an individual, join a team, or create a new team. Early learning programs have a unique opportunity to fundraise for their programs when they form a team with Trying Together. Fundraise for Your Early Learning Program The primary goal of the walk is to help participating organizations raise money for their individual missions. One hundred percent of the funds raised through this event go directly back to the participating organizations. This is a great opportunity for nonprofit organizations to raise funds, but not all entities meet the eligibility standards. If you are the owner or director of an early learning program, Trying Together can work with you to raise funds through the Highmark Walk. When your program creates a walk team on behalf of Trying Together, seventy-five percent of all funds you raise will be donated back to your program! You can use these extra funds to buy supplies, pay bills, take fields trips, and more. Interested in teaming up with us to raise funds for your program? Create your team now! Visit the Trying Together Fundraising Page, select “Sign Up > Create a Team” and complete the registration form. Use your program name as your team name. For assistance, watch the video below. Need help fundraising? Check out our early learning program fundraising guide for ideas, emails/letters, social media posts, and graphics. Not an early learning program? You can also support Trying Together by walking as an individual, forming a team, or by making a donation! Form a Team Visit the Trying Together Fundraising Page, select “Sign Up” to register as an individual or to create a team, and complete the registration form. Participants who make or raise a $30 donation must be registered as a walker to receive a free Highmark Walk t-shirt. All t-shirts must be picked up the day of the walk. Donations If you can’t make the walk or want to offer Trying Together additional support, consider making a donation. Trying Together will accept donations via the Highmark Walk’s online donation platform or mail. To make a donation online, visit bit.ly/highmark-walk-donate, type “Trying Together” into the search bar, and complete the form. If you would like to submit a check or cash donation, please complete a Walker Donation Form and mail the completed form and donation to Trying Together at the following address: Trying Together c/o Maria Pisano 5604 Solway Street Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Donations must be submitted by June 30, 2026. All registered walkers who raise or donate $30 or more will receive a Highmark Walk T-shirt while supplies last. For more information, contact Maria Pisano, Director of Community Relations, at maria@tryingtogether.org. More Information For more information and answers to common questions, visit Highmark’s FAQ page or view the Highmark Walk 2026 flyer.
February 4, 2026 Winter Wellness & Family Connections Event Jeremiah’s Place, the Church of the Holy Cross Episcopal, and Trying Together will host a Winter Wellness and Family Connections Event on Wednesday, February 18. Learn More The event is a welcoming gathering for families with young children that combines practical winter supports, family-friendly activities, and space for connection and listening. It will include light snacks, children’s activities, winter wellness, comfort giveaways, and opportunities to support families in tangible ways and to listen to parents’ hopes, needs, and concerns. The event will run from noon to 1 p.m. – during drop-in play hours – on February 18 at the Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center, located at 7219 Kelly Street in Pittsburgh.
February 2, 2026 Capturing Moments: Planning for and Conducting Classroom Observations This session will introduce early education professionals to the importance and value of purposeful observation. Through discussions and activities, instructors will describe and strategize ways to incorporate systematic and intentional observation into daily classroom experiences. Participants will also discuss how observation can be used to support individual children and improve the overall quality of the learning environment. When: Monday, March 23 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cost: $20 Location: ZOOM Register
January 30, 2026 Trying Together Calls for Presentation Proposals for June UnConference Trying Together invites those interested in presenting at its June 11 UnConference, “Out-of-School Time,” to submit proposals for presentations relating to that topic by Friday, March 6. Learn More Trying Together’s UnConference is an innovative, hands-on professional development training format where a deeper experience is provided around a particular theme related to early childhood education. Speakers are invited to present and participants are encouraged to engage hands-on in the workshops. Trying Together, in partnership with APOST and Allegheny County DHS, will host UnConference: Out-of-School-Time, on Thursday, June 11. More details will follow on the location and time. PQAS and Act 48 credits will be available for attendees. Presentation Topics Trying Together is seeking a focused range of topical presentations for the UnConference, which will focus on the topic of out-of-school-time. The audience for the UnConference will be educators, staff, and administrators working with children in summer programs, engaged parents and caregivers, and early childhood education and out-of-school time advocates. Those submitting proposals should design them to fit a 90-minute session. Appropriate topics include – but are not limited to: Mental health and social-emotional well-being Poverty responses Trauma-informed practices for OST programs Positive behavior management Game-based learning strategies Project-based learning for after school and summer programs Managing interpersonal conflict among staff Parent and family engagement for OST programs The importance of play Proposals will be selected based on a variety of criteria, including the extent to which the proposal targets and is relevant to the ECE workforce, experience or expertise of presenters, definition and focus of the topic, ability to engage participants in discussion and hands-on learning experiences, practical application of material and takeaways, and timeliness and importance of the topic. Each workshop proposal should encourage active learning; present culturally inclusive ideas, practices, and/or relevant research aimed at positioning attendees as leaders at the early learning programs in which they work; offer strategies for effective implementation of information acquired; include presenters who have significant expertise in the topic area; and cover a 90-minute block of time. Submitting a Proposal Trying Together will offer a stipend of $250 for any organization or individual whose proposal is chosen to be presented at the UnConference. Proposals will be due on March 6 and, on March 16, applicants will be notified about the status of their proposal. Presentation slides and materials as well as an overview of the presentation will be due on May 28. To submit a proposal, applicants should download the submission form and save it to their desktop. Then, submit the proposal as an attachment to learning@tryingtogether.org with the subject line “June 2026 UnConference Proposal” no later than 11:59 p.m. on March 6. For more information on submitting proposals for Trying Together’s UnConference, check out this flyer. Trying Together recognizes that summer programs may not have hired their summer staff yet. If you know how many staff you plan to send to the UnConference, we strongly encourage you to reserve their spots now. We will follow up later to get staff contact information. To reserve spots for your staff, email Gabby Lisella at gabby@tryingtogether.org.
January 29, 2026 Where Does the Money Come From? Join First Up, PennAEYC and Trying Together for “Where Does the Money Come From? Understanding Funding Streams in the ECE System.” Participants will learn about the various funding sources that relate to early childhood programming and who benefits from each. Participants will also discuss the overall scarcity of funds and learn strategies to advocate for the needs of early educators and the children and families they serve. The session will be presented in English with live Spanish interpretation, and ECE professionals can receive 1.5 PQAS hours. Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 1:00-2:30 p.m. Register here Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 6:30-8:00 p.m. Register here
Where Does the Money Come From? Join First Up, PennAEYC and Trying Together for “Where Does the Money Come From? Understanding Funding Streams in the ECE System.” Participants will learn about the various funding sources that relate to early childhood programming and who benefits from each. Participants will also discuss the overall scarcity of funds and learn strategies to advocate for the needs of early educators and the children and families they serve. The session will be presented in English with live Spanish interpretation, and ECE professionals can receive 1.5 PQAS hours. Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 1:00-2:30 p.m. Register here Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 6:30-8:00 p.m. Register here
Advocacy Fellows Connect During Kickoff Meeting Trying Together’s 2026 advocacy fellows met for the first time on January 27 to kick off their immersive, yearlong advocacy journey. Learn More The meeting – which was held virtually due to Pittsburgh weather conditions, but will be held in person in subsequent months – introduced the fellows to Trying Together’s policy team and each other. “Over the course of the year, we see our fellows develop a lot of growth and confidence in using their voices to support their own work,” said Executive Director Cara Ciminillo during her introduction to the fellows. “Our job is to help you all feel good about what you do and have the necessary tools, skills, and knowledge to get the recognition and the investments for the work you’re doing every day.” The fellows represent a wide variety of careers and experience in the early childhood education field – including educators, child care program owners, administrative professionals, researchers, early learning consultants, parents, and more. Many of the new fellows expressed interest in elevating child care as a profession and working to help policymakers learn how they can help child care programs. Following introductions, attendees learned about the history of early childhood education and the various investments achieved over the decades, including the $25 million in additional funding that was allocated for early childhood education in the most recent Pennsylvania state budget as a result of advocacy. During the course of the fellowship, participants will work their way through an advocacy workbook by mapping out their advocacy journey, reflecting on goals, practicing real strategies, tracking their progress, and building toward their final projects. Their final presentations will conclude with a gallery walk in November.
January 15, 2026 Trying Together Names Indi Kids Director as Advocate of the Month Trying Together has named Stephanie McAdoo, director of Indiana’s Indi Kids preschool, as its January 2026 Advocate of the Month. Learn More The Advocate of the Month award goes to providers who demonstrate exceptional commitment, compassion, and leadership in the field of early childhood education. Trying Together chose McAdoo because of her consistent and reliable work and advocacy for early childhood education in Indiana County and statewide. “Stephanie works tirelessly to manage not only her own program and the challenges that come with that, but also does extra work to make sure the whole field is being supported,” said the Trying Together policy team. Honoree Statement In an honoree statement, McAdoo said that advocacy is important to her, and that she and many other educators spoke up for early care and education amid the state’s ongoing budget impasse. McAdoo participated in the “Day in the Life” photovoice project, which shared the joys and challenges of the child care field. “We told our stories of dedicated teachers struggling to make ends meet on unlivable wages and grappling with decisions to leave a field that they love, of programs trying to balance budgets and struggling with decisions to raise rates and risk losing families or forgo wage increases and risk losing teachers,” McAdoo said. She added that she and other advocates voice repeatedly that the true cost of care is unaffordable to most families and when the cost of care cannot be put on families, educators end up subsidizing the system through lower pay. McAdoo said she appreciated that Gov. Josh Shapiro and members of the General Assembly voted to make early care and education a priority. The result was a passed budget with a new $25 million educator recruitment and retention line item. She added that Trying Together and PennAEYC stood with her in support of her advocacy efforts. “I will continue to raise my voice to ensure early care and education gets the investment it so desperately needs and deserves,” she said. “Our families deserve quality programs, our children deserve qualified teachers, and our teachers deserve livable wages.” See her full statement.
