Iowa Au Pair Source: Kathy Weiss

If you’ve been considering an au pair, now is the time to act. Cultural Care Au Pair has announced a special May discount for families who apply between Friday, May 4th and Tuesday, May 8th. New families who apply during that time will receive a waived application fee ($75 savings) and a $350 program fee discount. To qualify, families must welcome an au pair by October 5th, 2012 and host her for a minimum of 30 weeks.

Families who apply this weekend and select their au pair by May 31 2012 will receive an additional $400 program fee discount for a total savings of $825!

If the timing is right, you can apply online now using the special promotion code PCMAYM2012. Questions? Call Kathy at 319-621-4668 for answers. I’m available all weekend to assist you in securing qualified, flexible and affordable childcare for your family.

As soon as I saw Shruthi’s smile, I knew she was the one. I chose a card with the 14 year old’s photo from a table of over 50 children, all from the Jeevitha orphanage in Bangalore, India. Cultural Care’s Kids First Foundation unveiled its new Sponsor A Child program during a recent national meeting to give local coordinators and au pairs a chance to make a difference in a child’s life around the world.

So far, I know that Shruthi loves to play badminton, but we will soon receive more information about her, along with photos. Through my commitment and local au pairs’ generosity, Shruthi will be able to attend school in 2013. Her school fees for one year amount to only $60!

Au pairs: do you wish to contribute $5 or $10 to this cause? You will have the chance to do so at our next meeting May 20th. If everyone wishes to participate, we might be able to sponsor a second child. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Caring, dependable childcare can be hard to find­­­­––and exceptional childcare even rarer. But Jill Tomek’s family in Iowa City recently hit the jackpot when they welcomed Polish au pair Agnieszka Sawko into their home.

Agnieszka, 24, provides live-in childcare for the four Tomek children, and her outstanding dedication and enthusiasm in caring for them led their mom to nominate Sawko for “Au Pair of the Year.” Sponsored by the International Au Pair Association, the Au Pair of the Year Award honors au pairs who are caring, dependable and exceptional providers of childcare to their host family. From the nominations, Cultural Care Au Pair selects winners from each state and Agnieszka was recently selected as the winner for Iowa.

Her placement with the Tomek family in Iowa City is part of the Cultural Care Au Pair intercultural exchange and childcare program. She cares for the family’s host children, ages twelve, nine, seven and three, in exchange for the opportunity to live in the United States, take classes at an American university, and become part of a real American family.

Agnieszka’s host mom Jill wrote about her au pair’s dedication in her nomination for the international award. “When she arrived, Agnieszka quickly assimilated into our family life. She brought carefully-chosen gifts and articles from Poland to teach us about her heritage and culture, and the transition was nearly seamless, much easier than I ever could have imagined. She immediately assumed responsibility for not only the children’s physical needs, but their emotional needs as well. Though the time of her arrival and transition was a very stressful one in our household, she handled it all with extraordinary patience, acceptance, strength, and grace.” Jill finished her nomination essay with this: “We all adore having her in the house and miss her when she isn’t with us. I am proud of her accomplishments, pleased to introduce her to our friends, and absolutely love discovering America through her eyes. Agnieszka Sawko has made our lives better in ways that I would never have dreamed possible. I wish we could keep her with us forever. She is definitely the au pair of the year in our book!”

Arleyda is a 24 year old university graduate who hopes to have the opportunity to care for the children of a family in eastern Iowa. She studied to become an elementary teacher and plans to improve her English skills so she can teach children in her homeland to speak English upon her return.

Arleyda enjoys reading, arts and crafts, swimming and cycling. She has already obtained her visa for travel to the U.S. and could be available within a few weeks. If you would like to know more about Arleyda, please contact me at 319-621-4668.

While au pairs are a common childcare option on the East and West Coast, families in the Midwest are often surprised and curious about this flexible and affordable solution.

Parents of young children in particular are happy to learn that having a live-in childcare provider is actually within their family budget. At a cost of about $7.55 an hour per family (not per child), having an au pair care for your children can save you hundreds of dollars every month.

And families everywhere appreciate the cultural exchange aspect of hosting an au pair. It’s a learning experience for the entire family that often leads to a lifelong friendship.

For more information about hosting an au pair, visit www.culturalcare.com or call Kathy at 319-621-4668. I welcome the opportunity to assist you family in choosing the best childcare option, and often that choice will lead you to the rewarding experience of being a host family to a young adult from a different land.

My role as local childcare coordinator has enabled me to serve families of all sizes and types throughout eastern Iowa, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to provide a childcare solution that is flexible and affordable, averaging just over $7.55 an hour.

If your family struggles with fluctuating work schedules that involve nights and weekends, or frequent child illnesses stemming from a traditional daycare, or if you’d like to experience the convenience of in-home childcare provided by an experienced caregiver you can trust, please contact me for more information.

Cultural Care Au Pair is the leading au pair agency in the U.S., offering affordable, dependable service in eastern Iowa and throughout the U.S.

Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to answering your questions. Raising kids isn’t easy, yet having a live-in au pair certainly makes it easier. Along with extra hands to help you when you need it, your family will benefit from a more flexible, secure, culturally-enriching experience. Please contact me at 319-621-4668 for more information.

Another new au pair has arrived in eastern Iowa. Agnieszka Sawko from Poland will take up residence with the Jill Endres family of Iowa City, making a first for our au pair community with two au pairs living in the same neighborhood…and on the same street!

Agnieszka will be an au pair to Jill’s four children: Sam, Elliot, Vivian and Fern, who live down the street from the Longmuir family, where Aileen Pappler from Austria is caring for two children, Charlotte and Thomas. Hopefully they will soon meet and friendships from around the globe will blossom here in Iowa once again.

Au pairs added a touch of authenticity to the Oktoberfest celebration in the Amana Colonies Sunday, especially Nicole Stirm and Aileen Pappler from Austria, who wore traditional Bavarian dresses. The crowd loved it–and them! It was a beautiful day complete with authentic food–bratwurst and sauerkraut!

This Sunday, October 2nd, au pairs from throughout eastern Iowa will converge on the Amana Colonies to savor the tastes and sounds of Oktoberfest 2011.

Live German music, authentic Bavarian food and horse and carriage rides through the historic streets of Amana, along with pottery demonstrations and arts and crafts, await these young women from diverse parts of the world–Sweden, Panama, Chile, as well as Germany and Austria–and hopefully a few will be able to tell us whether an Iowa Oktoberfest is truly “authentic.”

Host families are welcome to join the fun. We will meet at City Park in Iowa City at noon Sunday and carpool from there 30 miles west to the colonies. Wirst du da sein?