Military families once again can get a free premium membership to the nanny and babysitter website Sittercity, thanks to a recently refreshed Pentagon Sittercity military discount program.
The freebie, announced Aug. 10, is paid for by the Defense Department and offered through its Military OneSource service. Although the release does not specifically mention Sittercity, following the registration steps on the Military OneSource site leads users to the Sittercity website for registration.
The new free memberships are available active duty, National Guard and reservist families,; surviving spouses; medically discharged troops and their families; and military retirees and former troops up until 365 days after their last day of service. Officials did not specify how long the service will be available.
Although the Military OneSource site states that the benefit is only available to Coast Guard families on Title X orders, multiple Coast Guard spouses were able to access the free membership without that status.
Sittercity’s military discount freebie connects users with service providers for baby-sitting, housekeeping, pet-sitting and other caretaking jobs. Although a free membership allows users to see details for local care help, messaging potential hires requires the paid "premium" membership.
The previously offered DoD membership program, originally rolled out in 2010, came to a halt in 2015 when the Defense Department opted to end their contract with the company, citing decreased need. Like the newly extended service, that program gave military-affiliated users free premium memberships, worth about $140 per year.
The refreshed Sittercity military discount program seems to mirror the old one and is available to "eligible military families," according to the Pentagon's release.
Over 230,000 free monthly memberships were provided to military families between 2010 and 2015, Military.com previously reported, and cost the DoD $1.65 million during those years.
This story was updated Sept. 1 to reflect Military OneSource stated rules for Coast Guard users.
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