Between school, families and finances, student parents often have a lot on their plate. The Sitters for Service program helps relieve the financial burden of childcare by providing free, reliable babysitters to student parents.

Sitters for Service, an initiative of Student Affairs, matches qualified student volunteer babysitters with student parents in need of regular childcare. The students receive volunteer hours for their work, and the parents receive the childcare free of charge.

Rosalind Moore, coordinator of Sitters for Service, said the program, which began in the fall of 2010, has been a success with both students and parents.

“We knew we would find parents who would love to receive free babysitting,” Moore said. “What we did not know is that we would find undergraduate students who would love to give of their time and energy freely in the interest of helping a fellow student.”

Alexis Perry, a junior majoring in criminal justice and philosophy, has volunteered with the program since fall of 2010. She said she volunteers because she understands the distraction a child can be.

“I have a three-year-old sister, and I know what it is like to try to focus on school or work or anything while babysitting,” Perry said. “I can imagine what it is like for parents to have to focus on school, work or something as simple as date night while trying to find a reliable, affordable sitter. I thought it would be amazing to help out parents for free while getting the chance to be a kid again while playing with kids.”

Interested student sitters must go through an application and interview process, followed by training in infant and child CPR, if chosen. Sitters are then placed with families through an event that follows the format of speed-dating. The event allows families to meet all the sitters and find the sitter who can best fit their needs.

Miranda Goodwin, graduate student in social work and mother of a 2-year-old son, said the program has helped her balance time.

“The program is a lifesaver for me,” she said. “I don’t get much study time in with a very active two-year-old running around the house. I have to fit in a few hours after he goes to sleep. The program allows me study time, as well as an opportunity for my husband and I to have date night every once in a while.”

Kacey Capps, a senior majoring in biology and sitter since September, said Sitters for Service is mutually beneficial.

“The great thing about this program is that it puts people who never would have met ordinarily in contact with each other,” Capps said. “Sometime when you’re at school it would be nice to know a family who can help you out with something your parents would usually help you with if you were at home. Now, I feel like this organization has allowed me to make those connections and I have met some wonderful people in the process.”

Moore agreed that the program has created meaningful relationships.

“After the events of April 27, several of our student sitters and student parents reached out to one another by providing shelter and essential items during a serious time of need,” she said. “These relationships would not have been possible without the bond created through Sitters for Service. This is an aspect of the program that we never could have imagined.”

For more information on becoming a volunteer or receiving babysitting services, visit the Graduate Parent Support website at gps.ua.edu and look under the Resources & Research tab.