The NYC Sitter Connection is a community of families and sitters uniquely connected through personal relationships & referrals.
Its purpose is to ease the process of finding and booking trustworthy sitters, and for excellent sitters to get connected with trustworthy families and childcare opportunities.
Meet the Founder
Colleen Fechner
Founder & CEO
Colleen Fechner has been providing quality child care for dozens of families and hundreds of children in NYC since she moved to Brooklyn in 2010. This includes 12+ years as a regular, part time sitter for 2 families, holding the position of childcare supervisor and coordinator for over 10 years at Resurrection Brooklyn in Park Slope, and occasionally sitting for many other families in the NYC area. In addition to childcare, Colleen’s first love was ballet, and she holds a BFA in Dance and minor is Music from Belhaven University. She currently teaches creative dance and movement classes at Honeydew Drop Daycare, and ballet classes at Covenant Ballet Theatre, and leads the children’s ministry at TORCC-NY. Colleen loves connecting and working with the children, parents, and sitters in Brooklyn & all of NYC.
Our Story
The idea for The NYC Sitter Connection first appeared in seed form in 2010. Colleen and her roommate, Sonia – both new to NYC and working as freelancer sitters – were so inundated with work they began referring friends for extra jobs and started joking about having “The Babysitter’s Club.” (A book series from the ’80’s, for those of you who weren’t preteen girls in the ’80s or ’90s). Sonia soon moved on to other things while Colleen, with encouragement from her mentor, Dr. Robyn Kassas, began realizing that this idea was more than a good laugh. It took some time and refinement, but after nearly 5 years, The NYC Sitter Connection made it’s first official sitter booking in April 2015. It has since been successfully connecting wonderful families with trusted sitters, and slowly grown in scope and operations.
In contemplating the journey, Colleen says, “It’s a privilege to know and be trusted by this community. Kids are vulnerable and impressionable, and I take seriously the importance of sending good people who will keep kids safe and have a positive impact on their lives. I love being able to connect families with wonderful people who will love and care for their children, and simultaneously connect care givers and sitters – many of whom are also aspiring artists, students, teachers, etc. – with the jobs they need. “
Next Steps…
Join our growing network today!