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Community Corner

Hamilton Mother Leads New Concept in Finding a Babysitter

A Hamilton mother is the co-founder of an award-winning service that links parents with babysitters.

Whether you have the opportunity to go out for the night or you would like to go back to work, finding a reliable babysitter can be a time consuming and difficult task.

Last fall, Hamilton resident Katy (Sumberg) Langhorst along with Tara Harville-Fry of Beverly founded Sitter Mixer, a new business to connect parents with qualified babysitters by using the concept of speed dating.

Less than eight months old, Sitter Mixer is already the recipient of a 2011 StartUpNation 200 Leading Moms in Business award.

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"We are honored to be ranked among such prominent and successful moms," said Langhorst.

Sitter Mixers are events where parents can interview 5-10 potential babysitters with a backdrop of vendor boutiques and refreshments. All the participants are eligible for door prizes and raffles.

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“The atmosphere is part cocktail party, part speed dating and part job fair," Langhorst explained.

They came up with the idea when they couldn’t get women together for a moms night out because of babysitter issues. 

The founders held their first sitter mixer at Mall Tots in Danvers last October and were overwhelmed by the positive response.

“We started getting calls from other moms groups asking if we could run an event for their groups, and it snowballed from there,” explained Langhorst.

Since then they have had six events, with two more scheduled for this spring.

Parents and sitters both have to pre-register online. The fee is $39 for parents (usually the mom attends) and $5 for sitters who must be 15-years-old or older. The sitters fill out an application with two references, while the moms fill out an information form.

The evenings usually began with mingling and browsing boutiques followed by mini-interviews at 7 minute intervals, with a break for raffle drawing and more refreshments.

Each mom left with a 'Sitter Matches' booklet which included a copy of all the sitter applications, contact information and references. The sitters left with pertinent information, name, town, ages of kids for each of the moms, but no contact information.

"This way, the sitter can refer to some information if the mom calls them," explained Harville-Fry.

All participants also received with a “goody bag” filled with coupons and discounts from local vendors and sponsors including Cederland and Discovery Toys.

Most of the sitters at a recent event were adults with families of their own.

Langhorst said advertising for the events is done through local newspapers, local colleges and high schools, Meetup.com, Craigslist, word of mouth, on the venue's website or through the sponsoring mother's groups.

When asked how they know if the events are successful for moms and sitters, Langhorst explained that they send out a feedback survey.

"I found a sitter at the first event," she said. While initially she was looking for an occasional sitter, Langhorst now needs her sitter weekly while she attends to Sitter Mixer business.

For more information about Sitter Mixer and future events, visit their website.

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