Welcome to our network of Safe Sitter® Providers! We are happy to have you on board. Now that the paperwork is complete, and your Instructors have trained, it is time to set a class date and begin recruiting students.

First, determine the right class fee.
Research similar programs in your area (i.e., CPR/AED classes) to determine an average for your area. Don’t set your fees too high or too low. Setting them too high may hinder parents from registering their children, while setting them too low may drive registration but hurt attendance. Remember that you are offering a valuable service to your community and set your prices accordingly.

Set your class date and time.
Classes held on Saturdays tend to be very popular, especially in late spring or early summer. Having a regular schedule of year-round classes (for example, the second Saturday of every month) is also a very effective program practice. Consider scheduling classes during school breaks, holidays, and in-service days as well.

• Fall Break
• Veterans Day
• Winter Break
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Spring Break

Schedule classes to begin after 9 am. Research has shown that adolescent students tend to be well-rested, alert, and better able to focus when classes start at this time. When teaching Safe Sitter® as a modular program (after school, extracurricular, etc.), offer each class for no more than two hours per day.

After you’ve set your class dates, don’t forget to submit your class dates. This information allow us to make sure out website has the most up-to-date information in the Find A Class feature and better support your program’s success.

Recruit students for your classes.
From flyers to public service announcements, we have you covered (and, as a Safe Sitter® Provider, these materials are free!). Here are 10 creative ways you can spread the word about your upcoming classes.

1. Marketing Flyers. Creating co-branded, customized flyers is as easy as completing a form. Simply enter information for your class, upload your logo, click “submit”, and then check your inbox. You can create both PDF and JPEG flyers and select the marketing images that resonate best with your audience. To get started, visit Marketing Request Form.

2. Social Media. Social media marketing is a great way to promote upcoming classes.. Visit Social Media Post Examples to download images and get ideas for how to promote your classes.

3. Your Website. It might seem obvious, but when students look for a class through the Find A Class feature on the Safe Sitter® website, they want to find a class! Visit 10 Website Best Practices for Your Safe Sitter® Class for layout ideas and descriptive text to copy and paste into your website editor.

4. Your Organization. If you have outside visitors in your organization each day, put a stack of Safe Sitter® flyers in your lobby or post one on your bulletin board or in other high-traffic areas. If you publish a program guide, make sure you include all Safe Sitter® class dates with detailed registration information. You can also consider offering a class for the employees of your organization. They might not have a child to enroll in the class, but they may have a grandchild or neighbor that could benefit from Safe Sitter®.

5. School Administration. Email school administrators a flyer advertising your class date(s) to help promote your classes in newsletters and other forms of communication to parents. (Feel free to copy, paste, and edit the example email below!)

EXAMPLE EMAIL:
As a school administrator, you know that many of the students in your school are often home alone after school and some are even responsible for supervising younger brothers and sisters until their parents arrive home after work.
A Safe Sitter® class can give your students the skills they need to be safe, and give their parents peace of mind, because Safe Sitter® prepares students in grades 6-8 to be safe when home alone, responsible when watching younger siblings, and ready when they start babysitting. Would you please distribute the attached flyer to students in your school to help promote this upcoming class?

6. Local Businesses. Medical and dental offices that cater to young teens (pediatricians, orthodontists, etc.) interact with potential Safe Sitter® students every day. Ask the office manager if you can post a class flyer on a bulletin board in the waiting room or in an area near reading material.

7. Public Bulletin Boards. YMCAs, libraries, malls, restaurants, grocery stores, churches, and community centers often have public bulletin boards for community members to advertise their services. Talk with managers of local hangouts popular with young teens, such as bowling alleys and movie theaters, about posting class information in their facilities.

8. Community Calendars. Search online “My city/state Calendar of Events” or “Community Calendar” to find local community calendars. You can hand out flyers or slip sheets during community events and list your classes on the Calendar of Events. You can also approach local TV stations. They announce events as part of their Community Calendar. Many also allow you to submit information via their online forum.

9. Public Service Announcements (PSAs). Send a PSA to local radio stations. (Live copy is used extensively and inexpensively in radio.) You may also use the PSA during half-time announcements at school sporting events. Two PSAs to recruit are available for download: PSA emphasizing home alone safety and PSA emphasizing babysitting.

10. Press Release. Download the press release announcing a new program or the press release announcing new class dates and send to traditional news agencies such as your local newspaper, television channel, or radio station. For each agency, find their website and search for a submission page or contact person for submission. If sending the press release via email, be sure to include the words Press Release along with the title included in the subject line..