Invest Some Time in Media's New TimeBank

"TimeBanking" is a concept that has existed for decades, but is still new to many of us.  On Tuesday, Media will join the ranks of the TimeBank-enlightened. At the (3rd and Monroe Streets), people can learn all about the concept and become part of it on the spot. The basic premise is this: for every hour you invest doing work for someone via the TimeBank, you receive an hour that you can spend on any service offered via the TimeBank—not just with the person to whom you provided the service.

For example: Mike the graphic designer spends an hour creating a logo for Kristin, the hair dresser, who spends an hour on a cut-and-color for Mary, the baker, who spends an hour making a birthday cake for the son of Jimmy, the contractor, who spends an hour fixing the glitch in the toilet of Mike the graphic designer.

The event is free and open to the public, and volunteers will be on hand with more information about this program which will connect people’s needs with untapped
community resources in the greater Media area. People can become members of TimeBank Media at the party.

The event will feature the live soul/funk/Latin Jazz sounds of SoulFuego, and it is a pot luck event, meaning everyone is welcome (and encouraged) to bring a dish to share.

TimeBank Media turned into a reality largely through the efforts of founder Marie Goodwin.

"Last fall," Goodwin explained, "I approached Transition Town Media. I felt like the goals of TTM and the TimeBank were complementary, and wanted to know if, perhaps, they would be interested in helping me get this off the ground. The Steering Committee welcomed the idea, and actually made it a priority in their goals for the year to get it running and funded, leading TTM to apply for non-profit status to help the Timebank and TTM apply for grants to fund further initiatives in this area.

Because we are part of TTM, many of our community actions in the coming months will focus on projects that further the Transition mission: sustainable food and energy resources, buy-local initiatives, anything that furthers local resilience. We plan to begin  'permablitzing' and 'cropmobbing' projects (both of which apply large numbers of volunteers to sites to transform them, either according to permaculture design or just weeding/maintaining a local farm.)

There are plans for a tool lending library, as well as weatherization initiatives. We hope that there will be something to excite folks, and encourage participation in community actions such as these. We plan to have social functions, like this potluck/launch, once every three or four months and membership gatherings once a month. The next one is slated for August. Stay tuned," Goodwin said.