By: Moira Weir, President & CEO, United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Leigh Fox, President & CEO, altafiber; United Way campaign chair and board member, Amplify Leadership Table
Originally published in The Cincinnati Enquirer on Nov. 1, 2026.
Every child in Greater Cincinnati should have the opportunity to succeed in school and build a future filled with possibility.
A child’s success is shaped by more than what happens in the classroom. Housing, food, transportation, family stability and access to caring adults all play a role, and gaps at any point can make the path from childhood to a career harder to navigate. Connecting resources earlier and strengthening the systems around children can help make those transitions smoother.
No school, nonprofit, business or public agency can address these interconnected factors alone.
Over the last couple of years, United Way of Greater Cincinnati has been laying the groundwork for a more connected approach — bringing partners together, building the infrastructure for deeper collaboration and considering how we can better align our community’s strengths to support student success.
Now, we’re giving that work a name and sharing a larger vision for where it can take our region.
Amplify is a collaborative cradle-to-career partnership focused on improving educational outcomes by addressing the conditions that help children and families thrive.
Guided by the StriveTogether framework, Amplify will draw on a proven model used by communities across the country.
The name reflects a fundamental belief: We don’t need to start from scratch. Strong organizations, leaders and solutions already exist across Greater Cincinnati. We want to connect and amplify those efforts while identifying gaps and new solutions.
That approach was recently affirmed when the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce designated United Way of Greater Cincinnati as the Regional Education Partnership for Southwest Ohio, helping connect the path from early childhood to education, training and meaningful careers.
United Way is uniquely positioned to lead Amplify — bringing together what we learn from families, businesses and community partners and turning it into coordinated action around shared outcomes.
Our own experiences reinforce why this approach matters.
Moira has spent her career working alongside children and families — first as a social worker, later leading Hamilton County Job & Family Services and now United Way. She has seen firsthand how housing, child care, transportation and other circumstances influence opportunity.
As a business leader, United Way board member and member of the Amplify Leadership Table, Leigh believes businesses have a role in building the strong communities and future workforce our region depends on. Investing in the conditions that help children and families thrive isn’t just good for our community — it’s important to our region’s future.
From both perspectives, we agree: Educational success is connected to the strength of the systems, relationships and opportunities surrounding children and families.
We know this work will take time. Lasting change always does.
But we also know our community has accomplished significant educational milestones before when people and organizations worked toward a common goal. We can do it again.
United Way is ready to lead. But success will belong to all of us.
Help shape what’s next for our region’s children. Learn more and get involved with Amplify.
