St. Elizabeth Coop

St. Elizabeth Coop welcomes you!

What is a babysitting coop?

A Coop is a group of members who agree to trade babysitting hours on a point basis. The Coop provides one-call customer service. No more hunting and begging for a sitter. Make that appointment without even checking. It works. You can depend on it. And the sitter will always be a trusted friend.

When you request a sitter, you spend points. When you sit for another member, you earn points. Just request for a sitter whenever you need some time off. This saves you not only money but sanity and relationships with friends and family as well!

Why do I need a coop?

The main reason most parents form babysitting coops is to save money on sitters. It's a trade instead of a paid service, you get babysitting or other services in return for providing babysitting for others. And this can be easier than you think, since watching other peoples' kids is less of a stretch when you're already home watching your own. As your children get older, shared babysitting can actually feel more like trading playdates. The children are occupied playing together, which gives you more time to yourself.

Besides not having to pay a sitter, joining a coop assures you that your children will be looked after by the best kind of sitter, another parent you know and trust. Your kids know each other and play together in our Catholic community. It's actually better than having a babysitter come over because it's a treat for the kids to get to visit a friend's house and over time become close friends.

What makes St. Elizabeth Coop (SEC) different from other coops?

St. Elizabeth Coop is a coop for Catholic families living in the West Nashville area.

We do not have mandatory meetings but we do support members that host an event/meeting/play-date in order to meet and get to know other members.

Must be a parishioner at a Catholic church in the diocese and active in the community.

Have at least 3 character references. (If not invited by a current member)

Open to families with any age children.

We thank you for your interest!

Coops that you join or start make a huge difference for you and your friends and will continue to serve families in your community for many years to come. It really works. You will always have a sitter every time you need one. Coops are also used for many other reasons, like dog sitting, picking up mail, feeding someone’s cat, and carpooling. Transfer points to other members for services they provide.

The coop is designed to thrive with active members, using the coop and inviting friends to join. No pleas for help. No guilt. It is very easy to be a part of a Coop. No need for dynamic leaders. No need to be a salesperson.

Sitting Around website takes care of the bookkeeping, emailing new invitations with information to join, calendar, member notifications of new events and scheduled sits so nothing drops through the cracks.

There are two ways to join.

1. You may request to join our coop or a current member can send you an invitation with a link to follow. When requesting to join the coop, you must first create an account by clicking on “Sign up” (found at the top right corner of the screen). Then click below to “request to join”. Please include 3 character references with valid contact numbers and who referred you or how you heard about St. Elizabeth Coop. If you have any questions at any time please “send a moderator a message” by clicking below. Please include your questions and contact information. The moderator will verify references, consult current members before decision is made. Please note that not all requests to join the coop will be approved and that any final decision is ultimately left up to the coop. We want to be sure the coop is a good fit for all.

2. Current members may send out invitations to friends to join the coop through the Sitting Around website. If the person accepts the invitation, they will be allowed to join the coop without having to go through the join-request process. Current members simply click on “invite a new member” found on the main screen (My Account) and under the COOPS tab.