Photo by Aron Visuals
November 2023
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. Whatever comes up in the moment is what comes up. And they are leading to lively discussions about timebanking and its joys and challenges!
Here’s our standard 5-part format:
Our Chat-On-A-Bench, November 19th 2023
The Opening: Welcome and The Core Values
The Core Values: 1. All people as assets; 2. Value the work that’s outside of “work”; 3. Reciprocity -- Receiving and Giving leads to trust, connections; 4. Connection & Kindness -- We all need them!; 5. Mutual respect -- underlies everything.
Hello’s and First Break-Out Chat
The Core Values Question: Our world today has so much loneliness, isolation, and harsh rhetoric. Would it be better to focus on “Connection and Kindness” and put it first in the list of five core values?
In groups of two or three: A few minutes to meet and greet and address the Core Values question -- or anything else about timebanking that comes up for you in the moment.
The Main Chat: Six Big Questions!
The main chat, answering the Core Values question and then five more big questions coming from the first break-out chats was very energized – and we quickly ran out of time!
Responding to the Core Values question: Should Connection and Kindness go to the top?
The two of us in our break-out agreed that all of the core values are equally meaningful; they fold into each other and each is as important as the others.
Connection and kindness are a deep need right now, so focusing on it works for me!
Five More Big Questions from the First Break-Out:
One: A request to share the main types of exchanges in your timebanks.
Exchanges shared: A wide range included rides, plumbing fixed, food, minor house repair
Story: I am often asked if the timebank is worth joining to save money. That can be a hard question to answer. But recently I did save a lot of money when a timebank member fixed a plumbing problem for me. I put the need out into the timebank and a retired architect was happy to come and help me. It saved me a lot of money and I was very glad to be able to share that story with people.
Two: Should charging time credits be based only on the time of the person giving the service or more flexibly depending on the agreement between giver and receiver of services?
In our timebank, we base the exchanges strictly on the time that it takes to provide the service.
We are more flexible in our timebank: First, we remind members to always get clear before the exchange so there won’t be any unexpected shocks – like someone who got a pair of gloves knitted for them and was shocked that it took six hours. Second, it should be up to the members making the exchange to agree on how much to exchange in time – understanding that the aim is to live within the core values and to treat everyone’s time as more or less equal.
Three: There’s a saying that “Time is money”. I am seeking to work with parents’ flexibility in time at my children’s school to help them be less stressed and also to save money – and would like to explore with others how that thinking around time and money can work to help people cope.
The question hangs out there!
Also, a general comment: The key to an energized timebank is to remember that our aim is to build community and build resiliency for our members – not to replace money. We have to be responsive to the capacities and needs of the timebank members. It often means having to be very creative in thinking about value and how it’s generated and shared.
Four: How do you bring people into the timebank who want and need financial resources and payment for their time and services? How to let them know that timebanking will be worth their time? Is one solution to say they could earn time credits as an introduction, and then charge money?
People in our timebank do not like it when a member makes it known that after one exchange of time credits, they want to be reimbursed for their services with money. They see it as exploiting the timebank and its members.
So one answer is that if the timebank meets members’ needs, they will stay with it. If not, they won’t – so just accept that.
We cannot generate a community by applying automatic systems. We need to talk with each other and learn about each other to find out how they might give and also gain.
Five: (Sent in earlier.) We have moved into a retirement community where people already are kind and helpful – could timebanking expand the range of help that residents provide each other? If yes, then how? This question was put to the group. It was not answered directly – but it did feel that some earlier answers related to it.
General Insights from Our Shared Chat
Timebanking operates in two different ways: One is general – exchanges of giving and receiving that come up between members in a general way; another is towards specific needs like food insecurity or homelessness. Our timebank is general. We do not try to meet those specific needs, and we could not even if we wanted to.
A response: That separation may be too stark. We are not trying to fix society, we are trying to build community. It’s a different thing. However, when we build community through timebanking, and meet needs and provide opportunities to engage, it may also be that we can also help individuals who are facing deeper, societally-generated needs.
Story – Bridging Diversity
I help run a program on our local radio station. In our team, I am the only non-White person – and the only timebank member. But recently the other members of the team agreed to join the timebank, and we will be seeking to explore how timebanking could make bridges between diverse people and communities.
Story – Combining Doing Good with Doing Well.
We can seek out ways to cover the philanthropic and the saving-money approaches to doing timebanking at the same time so that all come out ahead!
(Lack of time meant this was left as a statement without exploring more deeply. The story below was shared as an example.)
My family had a need for after-school care. We didn’t have the money for it, but we did have a room in the house that we could share. So we came to an agreement with someone who needed a place to live and could be with our children after school. She lived with us, rent-free, and took care of the children after school. We formed a small community and were happy with that arrangement while it lasted. When our different needs changed, we took care to move on in ways that were respectful of each others’ needs.
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.