<p>I babysit for a woman who is not related to me at all, or even a neighbor of mine. She is a single mother who works two jobs and has two small girls. She already pays for them to go to daycare during the day, but needed a babysitter for the weekend evenings when she works as a waitress. </p>
<p>So I decided since I don't work on the weekends, I'd babysit for free for her. I was wondering if this is eligible to put on my college applications as community service.</p>
<p>Some people say I'm not really helping the community so it's not. But I am helping someone IN the community..</p>
<p>I'd really like to know if anyone knows if colleges would accept this. Especially interested if anyone else has put down babysitting for volunteer hours. Thanks.</p>
<p>I agree with Vince011. You are providing community service, keep track of your hours and in the end the woman can write a letter for you how your babysitting for free helped her provide for her children. There is really no difference between what you are doing directly for her than if you were doing free babysitting sent out by a community organization that helps single moms.</p>
<p>Additionally, it is quite innovative of you to see a need and step up to help without being directed by an agency to do so. I hope when you write your college essays you can use the experience to talk about what motivated you to help this woman and how it made you feel.</p>
<p>I do this too…so I wonder. I don’t think it is…well, I thought it was since I was doing it for free, but someone told me it wasn’t. I would ask someone at school…and by that I mean like a college guide or the guidance lady…they would know, I am assuming. That is what I will do when I get back in school :]</p>
<p>haha. This really peeked my interest… because I’ve used babysitting as community service hours for my community service club.</p>
<p>I go to a private school and every year they have an auction. They auction off random things and one of those things is ‘free’ babysitting for like 10 hours by the Community Service Club girls. So we actually babysit kids whose parents are LOADED and get community service credit for it.</p>
<p>So anyways… I definitely think what you’re doing is community service. The best way to service the community, is to attack it from a personal spot. If you can help just one person in the community, then you’re doing the community a service.</p>