GreatAuPair is an American au pair organization based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2001 by Shannon and Jamie Pitts, who were living in San Ramon, California, and had hired au pairs in the past to take care of their children. By 2013, the firm had connected more than one million families and caretakers.
Video GreatAuPair
History
GreatAuPair was founded in 2001 by Shannon and Jamie Pitts, residents of San Ramon, California. The couple had for a couple years enlisted the help of au pairs to relieve Jamie from taking care of their children. According to their account, they decided to help other parents do likewise by starting a website that allowed families and au pairs to find each other. Jamie Pitts conceived of the idea, and Shannon Pitts helped start the company after his employer, a dot-com company, failed. He aimed for a new job that would enable him to spend more time at home and with his family. His former job had required him to commute two hours each day to San Jose, California.
In July 2002, GreatAuPair had 7,000 registered users. In December 2003, it had connected more than 60,000 families and au pairs. In October 2008, the company had 6,000 families and 17,000 au pairs. By 2013, the company had matched more than one million families and caretakers.
In 2007, multiple consumers using GreatAuPair were scammed into sending money to au pairs or families who said they needed money. The firm issued a press release reminding users to be wary of sending money to people in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and other developing countries. In December 2010, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her husband Ari Behn found a native English-speaking au pair for their children Maud Angelica Behn, Leah Isadora Behn, and Emma Tallulah Behn through GreatAuPair.
In 2011, GreatAuPair became a division of InteliMark Enterprises, which was based in Gardnerville, Nevada. GreatAuPair is based in Austin, Texas.
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Services
Users create GreatAuPair profiles containing their resumes, images, and essays explaining their child-raising beliefs. Although user profiles can be reviewed without charge, consumers have to pay to receive their contact details. The company provides details about visas and does background checks on all au pairs from the United States. The company also matches people with elder caretakers, babysitters, pet sitters, house sitters, and tutors.
Commentary
In 2006, journalist Armin Brott wrote in his "Ask Mr. Dad" column that along with Craigslist and Nanny Locators, GreatAuPair was one of the "best resources" for finding nannies or babysitters. Jason Vollmer and Lisa J. Vollmer wrote in their 2007 The Princeton Review book What to Do with Your Psychology or Sociology Degree that GreatAuPair is "a fairly comprehensive site featuring nanny and au pair openings within the United States and abroad".
In their 2013 Let's Go book Let's Go Europe 2013, members of the Harvard Student Agencies wrote that GreatAuPair was "an easy-to-use, US-based organization that matches au pairs with families across the world". In their 2013 Let's Go book Let's Go Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels, they wrote that GreatAuPair was "one of the most trusted international job matching sites around".
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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