Grace Schmidt began babysitting when she was 12 and, like any enterprising college kid, wanted to earn extra money when she enrolled at the University of Washington to study nursing in 2018.

Maybe it was the infamous Seattle Freeze, but she struggled to find babysitting gigs. So, in late 2021, she took matters into her own hands and started a Facebook group tailored to the specific needs of University of Washington students seeking and offering childcare services.

Today, the private UW Babysitters group counts 923 members and continues to grow. It is open only to University of Washington students with babysitting experience, and seeks to “connect families to quality UW babysitters and nannies.” The annual $100 membership fee paid by parents seeking services goes toward screening potential babysitters and managing the page.

Schmidt graduated from UW last June and now works as an adult oncology nurse at Sutter Health in Oakland, Calif., though she still moderates the group’s Facebook page.

“Overall, this group helped bridge a gap in the community, and it’s been really cool to see the neighborhoods around campus connect,” Schmidt says. “The students finally get to easily mesh together and collaborate with families in our community.”