United Way of the Southern Alleghenies (UWSA) is proud to announce its selection as one of six United Ways in Pennsylvania chosen to participate in the Too Small to Fail initiative, a national effort aimed at enhancing early language and literacy skills in children.
This initiative, delivered through a collaboration between the Clinton Global Initiative and the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, will be supported locally by a $15,000 grant. The goal is to provide parents and caregivers with practical tools to engage with their children from birth by talking, reading, and singing to foster early brain development and language growth.
As part of the statewide campaign, United Way of Pennsylvania aims to launch 250 activations by the end of 2026, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. UWSA's approach includes training "trusted messengers" to educate families, transforming everyday community spaces — such as laundromats, playgrounds, health clinics, and grocery stores — into early learning hubs, and distributing children's books and learning resources to families.
“The methods provided by Too Small to Fail support early language literacy, family engagement, and kindergarten readiness,” said UWSA President & CEO, Karen Struble Myers. “You don’t need anything fancy to be your child’s first and best teacher.”
The Too Small to Fail initiative complements ongoing efforts by UWSA, such as its partnership with the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, the 1889 Foundation, Lee Initiatives, Center for Population Health, and Vision Together 2025 to employ an Early Childhood Systems coordinator serving Cambria and Somerset counties. This role focuses on achieving grade-level reading proficiency by 2030, among other important goals.
To that end, UWSA has already led educational forums, library visits, and school programs, providing hands-on learning opportunities, books, and other materials for families.
Other United Ways participating in the pilot project include Wyoming Valley, Titusville region, Lycoming County, Capital Region, and Bucks County.