Road Trip Update and the Timebanking Spark

Photo by Dawid Zawila

February 2024

Our TimeBanks.Org Chats-On-A-Bench are held monthly on the third Sunday of the month from 4 pm to 5 pm Eastern US time. Here’s our standard format:

• Welcome
• TImebanking’s 5 core values – a quick rundown.
• Breakout session –  “What would you like to share with each other?”
• Whole group sharing – drawing on topics from the breakouts.

The Opening: Welcome and The Core Values 

The Core Values: 1. All people as assets; 2. See, value and count as real work what it takes to build strong homes, families, and community; 3. Reciprocity -- Valuing receiving as well as giving leads to a community rooted in trust; 4. Connection & Kindness -- We all need them!; 5. Mutual respect -- underlies everything our well-being on every front.

Chat-On-A-Bench, February 18, 2024

Hello’s, Five core values, and Break-Outs to say hello what’s on your mind.

Chris Gray was joined as host by Jo Rhodes, calling in from Seattle, WA 

They begin their West Coast road trip together to visit with TimeBanks.

In Memory Of…

Chris spoke to the memories of Edgar, who died on January 23, 2022, and of Joan Eades, the coordinator for the East Seattle Timebank, who passed away in January a few weeks ago after a long bout with cancer. 

A special announcement:  A New TimeBanking Podcast Series is Coming Soon! 

Mike Cosh, an experienced podcaster, and founder of a timebank in Canada, has offered to create a podcast series on timebanking and other organizing approaches that connect to or align with timebanking. It will run every two weeks. 

The first two podcasts will feature Jo and Chris’s road trip visiting timebanks on the West Coast. After that, he will be welcoming inquiries from people who would like to be interviewed for the podcast. More information will be put out shortly via timebanks.org.  

A Brief Run Down by Jo and Chris of road-trip plans and the first visit with West Seattle TB: 

Their first visit was with the West Seattle TimeBank, founded by Tamsen Spengler and Grace Stiller. Jo noted that Tamsen asked just two simple questions out of which everyone there could choose one: A: What was an exchange that lifted your spirits?  Or, B: Why did you think it was a good idea to join the timebank?  Those questions led to many shared memories:  The list included:

• Streaming Fred Lasso for the group  – hosted by Julie who reckoned that for many people, signing up for the streaming service would be more than they could afford, and, anyway, it’s more fun to watch with others. This one activity led to many others.
• Holding meetings during Covid outside at the Community Edible Garden – a garden where all pitch in together and anyone can pick fruit and vegetables. Wearing masks and hugging with faces turned away.
• The soup swap – everyone brings four quarts of their soup in separate containers, and all get to choose someone else’s soup to take home!
• There were also many stories of individuals being helped by multiple timebank members when things were really tough. 

 Sharing from the whole group:

Here’s a small sample:

Fiona, from New Zealand, shared that she has recently been made the coordinator of her timebank and is loving every minute as she starts building up connections with existing timebank members and seeks out new ones. 

Elise, driving in her car, shared her excitement about what’s taking place with Youth Timebanking in Cameroon that she started, and how it is creating pathways for youth to creatively engage instead of being victims of a stagnant economy that gives them nothing to do. 

River, from Texas, asked how to get people excited about joining timebanking – and got lots of feedback from others in the group – most of it along the lines that the best way to engage people is through shared action and experience and ways to make that happen.

In Sum... 

It was a wonderful shared conversation that turned this way and that  – as the best conversations do – growing in energy as it moved along and sparked thoughts and ideas by all.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of TimeBanks.Org, TimeBanks, or Timebank members.