Sarah O’Brien moved to Columbus from Pittsburgh not knowing anyone, a stranger to her new city. That made it difficult for her to find a babysitter, let alone one she knew she could trust with her children.

O’Brien soon found an easy solution to her dilemma and three babysitters for her kids.

She said she has Mommy Mixer to thank, a program that alleviates most difficulty in searching for a babysitter.

“We consider ourselves speed dating for moms and sitters,” O’Brien said.

Mommy Mixer began in 2003 in Austin, Texas and has since expanded to 50 cities, steadily growing each year.

Jessica Kahan, city manager of the Columbus Mommy Mixer, said the concept might seem familiar to single people in the dating world.

The premise is fairly simple. A group of 10 to 15 mothers and 15 to 20 babysitters meet at a location and share information about themselves.

When mothers show up to the event, they receive a book filled with the résumés of each babysitter in attendance. Once the event begins, babysitters address the group of mothers and briefly describe their previous job experience.

Afterward, mothers approach their preferred babysitters with job opportunities.

“It’s really laid back; they don’t make you nervous or anything,” said Logan Jones, an undecided sophomore at Columbus State.

Jones said a friend dragged her to the event, but she enjoyed it and received many calls back from mothers.

Kahan said she likes the fact mothers can meet a babysitter instead of calling an agency or hiring a babysitter by word-of-mouth.

She said parents do not always know what they will get when they use these potentially unreliable methods.

“I know as a mom, if I don’t click with someone … I don’t want them watching my kids,” she said.

Mommy Mixer saves the worry and hassle of not meshing with a new babysitter.

“If a mom doesn’t click with a sitter, she just doesn’t call her,” Kahan said.

Mommy Mixer does not interfere with the mothers and babysitters once they meet.

Kahan said it is up to the parents to regulate prices, hours and days the babysitter works.

“I have a lot of friends who did it because they needed some extra money on the weekends,” Jones said.

Mommy Mixer usually chooses to hold events at boutiques, and during the mixer the boutiques offer special discounts. Kahan said this gives mothers and babysitters an extra incentive: an opportunity to shop while they mingle.

Each event features a new set of moms and babysitters, but Kahan said some mothers are known to attend more than one mixer.

Kahan said Mommy Mixer rarely needs to advertise their program because mothers and babysitters usually rave about their experiences with their friends.

When they do advertise, Kahan said she avoids traditional mass-media advertisements and instead puts up fliers at coffee houses, gyms and dorms, or posts on certain Web sites – anywhere mothers and college students frequently visit. She also speaks about the mixers at sorority houses, including those at Ohio State.

Mommy Mixer requires babysitters to be at least 18 years old and out of high school to participate.

The next Mommy Mixer will be held Nov. 12 at Principessa, located at 1257 Grandview Ave.

More information can be found at www.mommymixer.com.

Matt Hancharick can be reached at [email protected].