Virtual Baby Shower -- Care4Hire Review and Giveaway

Closed.  No Winners.

Being a new and first time mom, one of the hardest things I have had to do is leave my daughter in the care of others.  Shortly after her birth, I had to head to Wisconsin to accept the Huggies MomInspired grant I won.  Fortunately, my husband ended up taking the 2 days off to stay with our daughter. 

But, now that she is getting older (7 months as of 2/19), I have to begin to think about hiring a babysitter to help watch Savannah when I need to go to appointments, attend business meetings and try to squeeze in a date night here and there (We haven't had one since the baby was born -- but, who is counting).  As I am writing this review, I have a pit in my stomach just thinking about leaving my daughter with a stranger. 

But, some of worry has gone away after trying out Care4Hire for the past month.  Care4Hire is an online database for families and caregivers to search babysitters, housekeepers, tutors, elder/companion care, pet sitters and other miscellaneous service.   A free preview of available caregivers is available to families, allowing them to see the number of caregivers in their area, prior to signing up for a paid membership.  In the beginning, I only expect to need a babysitter for 2-3 hrs., as both Savannah and I adjust to being apart, and with the help of Care4Hire, I can find a provider who is available based on my needs and criteria.   

When the times comes to choose  a babysitter for Savannah, Care4Hire will be my go-to database for potential caregivers.  If you recently moved to a new area or are in need of childcare services, why not give Care4Hire a try today.  They also offer gift certificates, which make great gifts for expectant or new moms.

More About Care4Hire:

Care4Hire is an online membership site that connects caregivers with those who are looking for everything from child care in their home to pet sitting. Those who are looking for jobs in these fields can post a profile of themselves as well as detail their experience level and references so that they can find a job.

Care4Hire has been featured in a number of publications including Woman’s Day as well as on CNN.com. 

Membership Rates:

• Free Preview  -- FREE for 7 days.  Try our service free for a week. Post your job and get contacted by caregivers in your area.

• Monthly Plan  -- $9.99/month  + $25.00 sign-up fee.  First month plus the sign-up fee is billed the first month, then $9.99 billed each month thereafter.

• Annual Plan  -- $79.99 annually.  $79.99 payment for 12 months of access.

In addition, Care4Hire also allows those who are looking for jobs in the child care industry to post their photo as well as profile and detailed references on their profile so that parents as well as others who are looking for care givers can view them online so that they can make a decision.

 Some of the benefits to joining Care4Hire include the following:

• Free preview of caregivers in your local area
• Immediate access to caregivers upon membership
• Online reference access
• Available background checks of caregivers in the area

The site is relatively simple to use and has a large number of caregivers in the database. 

Stay tuned next month when I interview mom entrepreneur, Candi Wingate, President of Care4hire.com in a Spotlight on Mommy Monday feature post.  

---Giveaway---

Care4Hire is giving away a gift certificate for a FREE month-long membership ($34.99 retail value) to one lucky Inspired by Savannah reader.  With this offer, you will gain access to all the features Care4Hire offers, including phone and email addresses of potential caregivers. 

To enter, please complete the MANDATORY ENTRY first, and then as many EXTRA ENTRIES as you like. Make sure to include your email address in each comment, so that I can contact you if you win.

MANDATORY ENTRY --  Who will this gift certificate be for?  You or someone else?

EXTRA ENTRIES --

1) Subscribe to my blog via email (2 entries)

2) Follow me on Facebook (1 entry)

3) Enter any of my other giveaways, leaving a comment with the name of the giveaway (1entry per giveaway entered)

4) Blog about this giveaway. It must include a link to this specific post, as well as a link to my blog, http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/. (In your comment, please leave a link directly to your post – 5 Entries)

5) Follow me on Twitter (1entry)

6) Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per tweet, per day; please include link to tweet in comment below)
 

Enter to #win 1-month gift certificate to Care4Hire @rmccoy1234 http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/ #giveaway (Ends 3/2)

7) Like my Inspired by Savannah Facebook Fan Page! Please include your Facebook name with your entry, so I can follow you back. (4 entries)

8) Follow my blog via Networked Blogs (3 entries)

9) Vote for me on picket fence blogs (See button on right side of blog -- One entry per vote, per day)

Open to US residents only. Giveaway ends on March 2, 2011 at 11:59PM EST. I will then use Random.org to choose a winner. Winner will have 48 hrs. to respond to my email to claim prize. If I don't hear back from selected winner, I will draw another winner

Disclosure:  I was provided a 1-month free trial at Care4Hire in order to provide an honest review.  The views stated above are mine and mine alone.