Since 2014, Sitters for Scholars has been working to break down the barriers student parents face to help them achieve their educational and professional goals. Star Market has supported this nonprofit organization through its GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program.
Tell us about Sitters for Scholars.
The mission of Sitters for Scholars (SFS) is to support the economic advancement of families by offering trusted and free childcare to scholar parents wishing to pursue their educational and career goals and achieve greater economic security for their families.
Sitters for Scholars was started in 2014 by Oksana Hradyska, a former Simmons University student. While studying biochemistry, Oksana noticed many of her classmates came to class with their children and couldn’t find affordable, consistent, and reliable childcare. She watched her peers struggle to find acquaintances to watch their children and saw how much it impacted their education.
She watched her peers struggle to find acquaintances to watch their children and saw how much it impacted their education.
Without affordable, reliable childcare, many of these students ended up dropping their studies altogether. In response, she offered free babysitting services. She also encouraged other students to volunteer. After graduation, Oksana expanded the initiative and recruited, trained, and matched volunteer babysitters with student scholars. Oksana saw that her peers needed a trusted babysitter to come to their home for a few hours a week so they could focus on their studies. She started Sitters Without Borders (SWOB) in 2014 to match volunteer babysitters with low-income student parents, addressing the needs of her community with an impactful solution.
SWOB earned its 501(c)(3) designation in 2015, received an Open-Door Grant from the Boston Foundation in 2018 and hired its first part-time executive director that same year. In 2019, we added a part-time program director, and in 2021, SWOB rebranded to Sitter for Scholars so that our name better reflected our mission. Most recently, we’ve expanded our executive director position to full-time and our babysitting model to include group sitting with partnering organizations.
What services do you provide to the community?
SFS recruits, trains, and matches volunteer babysitters with income-eligible student parents – often single mothers who need someone to care for their children while they are in class or studying. We offer four free hours of reliable babysitting a week in the home so that student parents can focus on their studies, knowing that their children are well cared for. This year, Sitters for Scholars is proud to be celebrating its 10th anniversary. By connecting student parents and sitters, we are able to support the economic advancement of the whole family.
By connecting student parents and sitters, we are able to support the economic advancement of the whole family.
What sets Sitters for Scholars apart from other nonprofits in your community?
We are the only organization of its kind in Greater Boston focused on addressing a well-recognized barrier preventing student parents from pursuing their education: a lack of childcare. SFS wants to ensure they get the support they need to meet their educational and life goals. We’d love to help as many student scholars reach their dreams as possible.
Tell us a story that illustrates the good work of your organization.
One of the women who came to our organization as a mother wanting to further her studies was Jenny Marcelin. Sitters For Scholars matched her with a volunteer babysitter, Rosie, and she completed her degree at Cambridge College. Without someone to care for her two kids, Jenny says she would have had to drop out. Later, she returned to the organization, wanting to give back, and now, Jenny serves on the Sitters for Scholars Board of Directors. Her lived experience colors many of our conversations about the work we do as she draws on her extensive knowledge of what student-parents need.
This success story shows how people in need are ready to launch with just a little support, such as four hours of babysitting a week. It also shows how much of a barrier a lack of childcare can be to economic mobility. The more we can do to break down these barriers and fill the gaps, the better off a lot of families will be.
This success story shows how people in need are ready to launch with just a little support, such as four hours of babysitting a week.
What is your most outstanding achievement or contribution to the community?
I don’t think I can name just one! The collective effort and energy from SFS staff and the Board members is critical. It is incredible to see the change in a family’s trajectory once a level of support is provided where the burdens once were. SFS and I are so thankful to the program and outreach manager for making the matches with the students and sitters. We are also grateful to the outreach coordinator for providing such a positive presence in the community. Also, most importantly, without the volunteers’ time, care, and compassion, we wouldn’t be able to continue the SFS mission of helping student parents achieve their fullest educational potential.
What do you want people to know about Sitters for Scholars?
If you or anyone you know is a parent who attends or wants to attend a college or certificate program but can’t because they lack childcare, please go to the Sitters for Scholars website at www.sittersforscholars.org to submit an application.
And, if you or anyone you know loves kids and babysitting and wants to help a student parent achieve their educational dreams, then please consider becoming a volunteer sitter for Sitters for Scholars. You can submit an application at www.sittersforscholars.org
How will you use the funds you’ve received from the Star Market GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Reusable Bag Program?
The partnership with Star Market and the GIVE BACK WHERE IT COUNTS Bag Program has been so fun for SFS! We really appreciate all of the shoppers who purchased a bag. The funds will be used to provide babysitting to more student parents in 2024 and beyond. Thank you so much to Star Market for the collaboration; it’s been great!
Interview with Kristin Bell, Board Member and Former Interim Executive Director
Published June 3, 2024.