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Kindergarten Readiness Events Planned for Northside Families in April

News

March 29, 2024

Kindergarten Readiness Events Planned for Northside Families in April

Hi5! and Pittsburgh Public Schools will host kindergarten readiness events for northside families in April. Attendees will learn about kindergarten readiness, transition, and enrollment.

Session Details

The first event will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 4 at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, located at 1230 Federal Street in Pittsburgh. Those interested in attending can register now.

A second event will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 20 at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, located at 1201 Woods Run Avenue in Pittsburgh. Those interested in attending can register now.

Both events are free. The first 20 families to register for each event will receive a free kindergarten giveaway bag.

When a child reaches five years of age, it is time to enroll them in kindergarten. Details about kindergarten registration information for the 2024-25 school year in Allegheny County are now available.

Hi5! Kindergarten transition efforts are led in partnership with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 (AIU3), Trying Together, and United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. 

For more information visit Trying Together’s Kindergarten Transition page.

Voice Of ECE Childcare Liability Insurance Survey

News

March 22, 2024

Voice Of ECE Childcare Liability Insurance Survey

The Voice of ECE is inviting child care providers to share their insights by participating in its Childcare Liability Insurance Survey. The survey was created by and for early childhood business owners.

Learn More

The survey’s objective is to gain a comprehensive understanding of child care business owners’ experiences with liability insurance carriers. The Voice of ECE is interested in gathering information on changes in premiums, coverage issues, or policy cancellations/non-renewals. 

Feedback gathered during the survey will play a crucial role in identifying areas for improvement and help to ensure that child care facilities are adequately protected. Challenges and concerns shared during the survey will help to better serve and maintain child care facility operations.

All content will be utilized only for internal data collection purposes and will be treated as confidential.

The Voice of ECE’s partners in the survey include Trying Together as well as Children First, First Up, Latinos Educando Juntos, the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA), and the Pennsylvania Association of the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC). 

How To Participate

Providers who are interested in filling out the survey have until April 12 to do so. Two participants will be randomly chosen to win a $100 gift card from PennAEYC.

Trying Together Receives Rapid Response Team Grant

News

March 20, 2024

Trying Together Receives Rapid Response Team Grant

Trying Together was one of 18 early childhood organizations to receive state mini-grants for $200,000 in November.

Learn More

The Pennsylvania Key, on behalf of the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), awarded the Rapid Response Team grants to begin a six-month planning with six months implementation or a one-year grant implementation starting in January. The grant will support an approach that has emerged in several Pennsylvania communities to provide a Rapid Response Team to support a child, family, and educator when a child is at risk of being suspended or expelled.

Trying Together will use the OCDEL grant to expand the services currently provided by the existing Rapid Response Team in Allegheny County. Funding from the grant will be used to hire additional staff to respond within 24 hours of a referral; to provide program- and classroom-wide support such as mentoring and coaching, technical assistance, and professional development; and to increase the number of functional behavior assessments based on the needs of the child.

ELRC Region 5’s Rapid Response Team will continue to refer families and educators to additional services such as Early Intervention and Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH).

Early Learning Connections in Butler received the grant in ELRC Region 3 and Engage Kidz LLC in Murrysville received the grant in ELRC Region 4. 

About Rapid Response

Rapid Response Teams enhance the system of support available within the state’s early childhood system. The teams include behavioral health professionals, Early Intervention professionals and ELRC staff.

The program is a piloted, short-term triaging support to enhance the early childhood system of support in each ELRC region in the state, which also include quality coaching, IECMH and School-Age Child Care, focused mental health consultation, Early Intervention services and supports, and home visiting.

To learn more about Rapid Response Team implementation mini-grants, visit the PA Keys website. 

IPA-USA National Day of Loose Parts Play

News

August 23, 2023

IPA-USA National Day of Loose Parts Play

The International Play Association-USA chapter presents National Day of Play on September 16, 2023! 

To celebrate this international recognition of the importance of play, Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is hosting a special, pop-up play day on Saturday, September 16 at Lytle Land and The Elizabeth Street Parklet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Playful Pittsburgh “IPA-USA National Day of Loose Parts Play” event is a free, family-friendly opportunity for all communities throughout Pittsburgh to enjoy a day of play. The event will focus on embracing loose parts play to highlight how everyday items, such as cardboard boxes, paper tubes, string, and various fabrics can be representative of items from around the world. Using our imagination, we will celebrate cultural differences and similarities of play through a range of activities.

When: Saturday, 9/16 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Where: Lytle Land Park, 5113 Lytle Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15207 (Hazelwood)

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided. We know you’ll leave the play day feeling inspired and creative, so the fun can continue wherever your family travels! Loose parts are all around us!

Don’t miss this celebration of play from perspectives around the world!

Partnering Organizations Include:

Trying Together Offering Free Idlewild & SoakZone Tickets Through Summer Giveaway

News

July 17, 2023

Trying Together Offering Free Idlewild & SoakZone Tickets Through Summer Giveaway

Trying Together is offering families a chance at two free Idlewild Park and SoakZone tickets through an online Summer Giveaway.

About the 2023 Summer Giveaway

Hosted on Facebook, the contest requires audiences to take three actions:

  1. Follow Trying Together on Facebook.
  2. Share any one post about the giveaway on Facebook.
  3. Tag any one friend in the comment section of the post they intend to share.

Individuals who meet these requirements will have the opportunity to win the two free tickets.

Offer available now through Sunday, July 23. Winners will be notified via Facebook messenger on Monday, July 24. 

The winner may receive their tickets in the mail or visit the Trying Together office at 5604 Solway Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15217 during regular operating hours to pick them up.

Enter the 2023 Summer Giveaway

Interested individuals should visit the Trying Together Facebook page to participate.

About Idlewild Park and SoakZone

Since 1878, Idlewild & SoakZone has been provided smiles on faces and laughter in the hearts of all who visit. What started out as a simple picnic ground along the Ligonier Valley Railroad has grown into one of the most scenic and well-loved entertainment facilities in all of Pennsylvania.

Nationally recognized as “Best Children’s Park” by Amusement Today magazine and “Best Park for Families” by the National Amusement Park Historical Association, Idlewild & SoakZone is your place for family fun! It offers seven theme areas of fun, including the nostalgic Story Book Forest and Olde Idlewild coupled with new and exciting areas such as SoakZone and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Jumpin’ Jungle, Hootin’ Holler, and Raccoon Lagoon Kiddieland round out the fun.

Visit the Idlewild Park and SoakZone website for more information.

Learn More

To learn more, visit the Trying Together Facebook page or email info@tryingtogether.org with any questions.

Related Content & Resources

Trying Together Raises Over $3,000 to Support the Work of Early Childhood in Highmark Walk

News

July 11, 2023

Trying Together Raises Over $3,000 to Support the Work of Early Childhood in Highmark Walk

Fundraising for the 2023 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community closed last month, and Trying Together successfully trotted away with $3,205.

Walk dollars will aid Trying Together’s continued efforts to support the work of early childhood, children, child care professionals, and families.

Trying Together’s 2023 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community Campaign

To extend the reach of the Highmark Walk, Trying Together invited early learning programs to create walk teams on behalf of Trying Together, committing to donate 75% of funds raised by early learning programs back to them.

With provider participation, Trying Together developed six walk teams which collectively raised the $3,205 total—64% of the $5,000 goal. Team SMYL (Trying Together’s main team) raised the most funds at $1,320. Crafton Children’s Corner came just behind them with $1,000 raised. Here’s how the rest of the funds are broken down:

  1. Team SMYL – $1,320
  2. Crafton Children’s Corner – $1,000
  3. Presbyterian Day School – $275
  4. St. Paul’s Weekday Ministries – $160
  5. Dunkin’ Run – $85
  6. Thomas Child Care and Learning Academy – $25

Team success depended on the efforts of individual team members, and a few team members drove funds. Top participants included:

  1. Mary Merryman – $265
  2. Kristin Ash – $205
  3. Laura Pollick – $180
  4. Kendall Davis – $150
  5. Maria Snyder – $115

Because of the dedication of these individuals and many others, Trying Together can directly support participating child care programs and use remaining funds to further aid local children, families, and professionals. The entire organization offers a great many thanks to all of those who made and continue to make that possible.

Regional Participation & Impact

Through the 2023 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community, Trying Together and 66 other organizations in the Pittsburgh region raised $309,653 for their missions, reaching 77% of their 400,000 goal.

Find a list of participating Pittsburgh organizations on the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community website.

About the 2023 Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community

Part of the Highmark Bright Blue Futures charitable giving and community involvement program, the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community is an annual fundraising walk that benefits local health and human service agencies in regions across Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Held since 2003, the primary goal of the walk is to help participating organizations raise money for their individual missions by giving 100% of funds raised back to fundraisers.

Through 2023, the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community events have raised more than $17.6 million for more than 500 health and human service nonprofit organizations.

This year, the walk was held at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, May 13, with fundraising continuing throughout the month of June..

Learn More

To learn more, go online:

Related Content & Resources

Trying Together Shares Advocacy Tools for Families and Child Care Providers

News

June 26, 2023

Trying Together Shares Advocacy Tools for Families and Child Care Providers

Trying Together has created two new advocacy tools to aid families and child care providers in their efforts to impact state budget negotiations and persuade state legislators to directly invest in the workforce behind the workforce by raising child care wages.

Trying Together Advocacy Tools

Simple, everyday advocacy efforts often start with quick, common interactions between providers, educators, families, and legislators. Calling your state representative or emailing with waitlisted families are great ways to communicate challenges facing the child care industry and advocate for change. Phone and email scripts can assist on these occasions.

For Providers & Families:

Phone Scripts for Calls to State Representatives & Legislators

For Providers:

Email Response to Waitlisted Families

Take Action with PennAEYC

Tell your legislators how important child care is to you and take action in seconds. The Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) has constructed a tool that allows you to send an email to your legislators stressing the importance of child care with a single click.

Take action now. 

Additional Advocacy Tools

The Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA campaigns, of which Trying Together is a partner, have also compiled advocacy tools for family and provider use. Some of these include:

Learn More

To learn more, visit the Trying Together “Take Action” page.

P.R.I.D.E. and Trying Together to Host Author Britt Hawthorne for Anti-Racist Seminar

News

May 18, 2023

P.R.I.D.E. and Trying Together to Host Author Britt Hawthorne for Anti-Racist Seminar

The University of Pittsburgh’s Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education (P.R.I.D.E) Program, in conjunction with Trying Together, will host Britt Hawthorne, author of “Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Guide,” for a community discussion on Wednesday, May 24.

Held via Zoom from 5:30 – 6:45 p.m., all community members are welcome and invited to participate. Part of the P.R.I.D.E. Speaker Series, this event is free to the public, but requires registration.

Interested individuals can register online or through the University of Pittsburgh’s video conferencing page.

About Britt Hawthorne

Hawthorne is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, “Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide.” Also an antiracist educator, teacher, speaker, and advocate, Hawthorne remains committed to raising a generation of antiracist children. They center families of the global majority and create equitable environments for students and children of all ages and backgrounds.

Hawthorne’s work moves the idea of equity in education from a goal to a reality. They partner with action-oriented educators to create classroom environments that are inclusive and equitable for all learners. Their work has been recognized by PBS, the National Education Association (NEA), Drew Barrymore, Google Edu, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Rice University, the Association Montessori Internationale, and countless others.

Hawthorne travels extensively to speak at conferences, authors publications, and appears on podcasts covering social justice, liberation, and equity in education.

Learn More

To learn more, view the event flyer or visit the P.R.I.D.E. website.

Ultimate Play Day Returns to Pittsburgh on Sunday, May 7

News

May 3, 2023

Ultimate Play Day Returns to Pittsburgh on Sunday, May 7

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, alongside event partners Trying Together, Citiparks, and ZeroFossil, will host its annual Ultimate Play Day from 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. Ultimate Play Day is an opportunity for people throughout the Pittsburgh region to gather together, play together, and raise awareness of the benefits of play for everyone.

This year, Ultimate Play Day will be held at Lower McKinley Park in the Beltzhoover/Knoxville area of Pittsburgh.

Local partners and community organizations offer play activities for all ages each year. This year, more than 28 vendors are participating with hands-on playful activities, entertainment, and refreshments. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of “playful” activities from vendors, including ultimate frisbee, basketball, soccer, imagination/dramatic play with costumes, bean bag toss, oversized classic games like Connect 4 and Jenga, and plenty of arts and crafts projects.

Share the Ultimate Play Day flyer with your friends, family, and neighbors!

Ultimate Play Day is a part of Remake Learning Days. Remake Learning Days returns to Southwestern PA May 4 – May 23, 2023. A special thank you to Remake Learning for providing a mini-grant to The Collaborative for Ultimate Play Day.

SLB Radio Ultimate Play Day Interview

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative was a special guest on the Neighborhood Voices show, hosted by The Saturday Light Brigade, to talk about Ultimate Play Day!

Assistant Director of Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Adam James and Nicole Stevens from Beltzhoover Consensus Group joined SLB Radio to talk about this special day of play, why play is important for everyone, and how this event will connect neighbors throughout the City of Pittsburgh.

Visit the Ultimate Play Day webpage to listen to this interview.

Getting to Ultimate Play Day

Ultimate Play Day is the same day as the Pittsburgh Marathon. That means there will be adjusted traffic patterns to be aware of, but that won’t stop the fun!

You can find additional directions to get to Lower McKinley Park on the Ultimate Play Day webpage.

Check out this map provided by the Pittsburgh Marathon to check the rolling road closures and openings on Sunday, May 7.

Lower McKinley Park

Learn more about Lower McKinley Park and its history before Ultimate Play Day.

Check out this informational flyer on McKinley Park from Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

Remake Learning Days

Remake Learning Days hosts 1200+ learning events reaching 150,000 families. The festival features events across the southwestern PA region for youth, families, grandparents, caregivers and educators to explore creative and fun ways of learning. For more information, visit remakelearningdays.org/southwesternpa.

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is a group of organizations dedicated to advancing the importance of play in the lives of children, families, and communities in the Pittsburgh region by raising awareness on play being a critical life element for people of all ages, educating decision-makers (from parents to legislators) to support access to play for all, and modeling play through various recreational and professional activities. For more information, visit playfulpittsburgh.org.

Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 Partnering to Offer First Aid & CPR Training

News

May 1, 2023

Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 Partnering to Offer First Aid & CPR Training

Trying Together and ELRC Region 5 are partnering to provide First Aid, Pediatric First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automated external defibrillator (AED) training to early childhood professionals throughout June, July, and August.

Participants will receive training through a single, six-hour, in-person course offered on multiple dates and at varying times throughout the summer.

About the Course

This course emphasizes hands-on learning and 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 2 years.

Course Offerings

Courses are available:

Register via the links above.

Learn More

The cost of the course is $35. The course is PQAS certified and must be paid for in full before registrants can participate. Registered individuals will receive additional course information prior to the start of their registered session. Please make sure to read all information before the start of the course.

For questions about the sessions, contact Holly Cessna at holly.cessna@alleghenycounty.us. For credit questions, contact Paige Kizior at paige@tryingtogether.org.