Get the right people to respond to your post by changing how you post. “Need help with phone” can attract various timebankers as it is a bit vague. But “Need advice on fixing phone” tells people your looking for advice and not someone to fix your phone.
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8/17 National Nonprofit Day
At BACE, we kick-off NND (#NationalNonprofitDay) by thanking you, Timebank members, for your membership and participation in community building through making requests/offers. We express our gratitude to our all-volunteer staff who operate the Timebank so that people can meet their needs regardless of income. We encourage other nonprofit organizations to do more than just say “thank you” by becoming an organization member of the Timebank and showing gratitude for service (#GratitudeForService) by giving your volunteers hours of credit. Â
If you know of a nonprofit that supports itself with volunteers, please reach us here and provide the name of the organization and a contact so we can invite them to join the Timebank…and send you some time to spend.
A Call for Resources
At a time when many people are expressing lack–lack of work, sundries, hand sanitizer, or a good haircut–I’m surprised to hear people say “….timebanking is a nice idea, but that’s not how the real world works.” Why not? Maybe social distancing rules prevent you from your job at a salon, but you can build your clientele by offering pointers on how to trim those mops in exchange for hours of credit. When you go back to work who will they come to for a proper cut? Earn hours: Do you know of someone offering free resources in the Bay Area? Email us the contact information so we can list it on our Resources page, and you’ll receive 0.5 hour time credit for each resource you identify.
Timebanking During S-I-P
How can you timebank while sheltering-in-place? Think “servicesâ€. Earn/spend hours engaging in education: teach/learn to interpret art from a diversity of communities, to read music, to speak Spanish, to communicate with American Sign Language, or to sharpen your cooking skills. On the home front, give/receive support with grocery runs, Internet searches (for scholarships, an apartment, etc.), or home, bike & car repair. On the job front, give/receive support on developing a LinkedIn profile, creating a website to launch a member’s products, or hunting for jobs. You can even earn hours promoting the Timebank this summer.
Timebanking Amidst Crises
Crises bring stress and impact your well-being–health, financial, emotional, social, spiritual–and can extend to impact your immediate and global communities. There are many ways to use your Timebank to cope when you are in a crisis. First, update your profile with your skills and needs, and reduce your “area†list to just one neighborhood if you’ve received too much email over the past year. Second, post requests and offers. Timebankers who have had their hours or their job(s) cut may be seeking help updating and proofreading their resumes. Some may be seeking help from online researchers to access needed resources. Some Timebankers may need help developing a business plan for their new online business. Some may need advice on building remote working skills. Some may just need someone to listen to their concerns. Some may be students (or have kids) who are “in schoolâ€, but they are being homeschooled and learning online. There are a number of Timebankers who have extraordinary experience homeschooling and learning online, as I recently reached out to three of them. Your Timebank is a huge resource for you to use!
Timebankers Without Time?
I’m bemused when timebankers tell me that they don’t have time to timebank. Who has more time than a timebanker? You earn time doing things for others, and you can spend time you don’t have because time debt is permitted. This spring, take control of your time; ask timebankers to help with pet care, spring cleaning, recycling, surfing for information you need, and more.
