Resolution for 2016: Invest Your Time and Talents in a TimeBank

Introduction to TimeBanking - Wednesday January 13, 4PM

A Family Friendly Event, Free & Open to the Public

A TimeBank is formed whenever individuals or organizations agree to earn and spend TimeBank Hours to meet the needs of friends, neighbors, and the larger community.

TimeBanks range from Small (15 – 20 members) to large (2,000 or more). They can connect with other TimeBanks too.

Each TimeBank is unique reflection of its members, who they are, the dreams they have for their community, and what they choose to offer and receive.

Here is how it works: I earn a time credit by doing something for you. It doesn’t matter what that “something” is. You turnaround and earn a time credit doing something for someone else in your TimeBank Community. For example, an hour of gardening equals an hour of child-care equals an hour of dentistry equals an hour of home repair equals an hour of teaching someone to play chess. The possibilities are endless.

TimeBanking is a practical, community-based, 21st century way of “paying it forward.” It uses technology to coordinate the exchange of services between members, and proves that we do not need money to meet each other’s needs. The way it works is that one hour of work earns the volunteer one hour of credit that can be spent on a service from another member at a later date. For instance, if Mark spends one hour babysitting, he earns a TimeBank hour that can be spent on gardening help from Sheila, who earns a TimeBank hour to use on knitting lessons from Kate. Under TimeBanking, every hour of service has equal value. One hour of accounting help is equal to one hour of shoveling a driveway, which equals one hour of companionship with a senior citizen.

TimeBanking fosters ties within neighborhoods, facilitates the creation of supportive relationships, and creates a new kind of economy that features the community rather than money at its core. Again and again TimeBanking shows that we all have genuine assets, and the ability to create value with our time.

The Core Values of Timebanking:

• Everyone is an asset
• Some work is beyond a monetary price
• Reciprocity in helping
• Social networks are necessary
• A respect for all human beings

Timebanking Factoids:

“Family dinners and family vacations, or even just sitting and talking with your family, are down by one third in the last 25 years” (“Factoids: About social capital,” n.d.). There are ~250 TimeBanks in the UK and over 256 TimeBanks in the US. TimeBanks exist worldwide in 26 countries.

CONTACT US

Monmouth Cares, Inc.
185 State Road 36, Suite B-1
West Long Branch, NJ 07764

Contact Ashley Lobbato: 732-222-8008

Follow @MonmouthCares