What We Do

We’re here to empower young people to meet a community need.

What is Step Up to SIT?

Step Up to SIT is a student led initiative with the goal of keeping healthcare and other essential workers healthy and able to do their jobs while reducing the transmission of COVID-19 between children and their families. This initiative matches high school and college students willing to offer their babysitting services with individual families to allow parents to keep working.

At a time like this, it is easy for young people, who are not at high risk for serious complications from COVID-19, to feel helpless. It is our hope that through this initiative we can empower young people to do what they can to keep their communities safe, and at the same time offer valuable and necessary assistance to healthcare and other essential workers so they can feel confident continuing to do their jobs to keep our communities across the United States functional and healthy.

It is so important in crises like these that communities come together to offer and sacrifice their time and talents to protect society’s most vulnerable and empower those healthcare workers on the front lines. It is our mission to make those efforts as easy as possible, and we are committed to doing our part to ensure the health and safety of our community!

Why Does it Matter?

As young people in this time of crisis, we all have a choice to make. We can choose to be passive or we can actively engage our talents to help those who need it most. Step Up to SIT was formed to bridge the gap between the needs of healthcare workers and the abilities and initiative of high school, college, and graduate students across the country. Every single one of us has a role to play in ending the COVID-19 crisis, and Step Up to SIT is one way to contribute. Step Up to SIT so our nation’s healthcare workers can stand up to COVID-19.

Our government is doing what they can to minimize the viral spread while ensuring that workers can still do their jobs, and we are so grateful for their proactive efforts. However, crowded daycares full of children who are unlikely to get very sick, but have huge potential to spread the virus, mean increased risks for healthcare workers interacting with vulnerable populations on a daily basis. By matching individual babysitters with individual families, our goal is to minimize interactions that can spread the virus and keep our community’s children and workers as healthy as possible.

How Does it Work?

Step Up to SIT matches students willing to babysit with parents in need of childcare. In order to participate, all you have to do is fill out a google form, which can be found in the top right corner of our website at the “Sign Up” button. If you are a student, the form will ask about your availability, willingness to volunteer your time, child age preference, and driving capabilities. If you are a parent, the form will ask about the age(s) of your children and childcare needs. Once you have filled out the form, our local ambassadors will match babysitters and parents and make an introduction via email. At that point, it’s up to you to sort out logistics, but we are always available to help in any way we can!

What Do Ambassadors Do?

Our ambassadors are local leaders who run the Step Up to SIT program in their communities. They lead the recruitment of babysitters and serve as liaisons to health institutions, and they match babysitters with families in their communities. Step Up to SIT has grown to national scale because of the hard work and dedication of our community leaders all over the country, and we are so grateful for their passionate support! To become an ambassador in your community, click here!

What About Payment?

We understand last minute childcare can present a serious financial burden. Many of our students are willing to volunteer their time! If, as a parent, cost is concern, there is a place to indicate that need/preference. Otherwise, hourly rates and payment structures should be determined between each individual student and family. We will do our best to ensure all families in need of volunteers are matched appropriately, but matches are based on availability and preference.

Disclaimer: Step Up to SIT does not perform background checks on potential sitters, provides no guarantees, and is not liable for any damages that result from use of our services. Once sitters and families have been matched, it’s up to parents to request and call references and determine payment in the case that the sitter is not a volunteer. Any decisions you make involving Step Up to Sit including, but not limited to, using our matching service, meeting up with a potential family, or leaving your children in the care of a potential sitter are made strictly at your own risk.