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We caught up with musician Stephanie Rearick at the Praxis Peace Institute's Peace Conference in Sonoma, California and talked to her about the practical aspects of Time Banking - a system that she is involved with in Dane County. Time banking is one hour of time for one hour of time, no matter what your skill or profession and is based on a philosophy that our communities work better when all of our contributions are valued. It rejects the notion that we belong in separate classes of 'givers' and 'receivers' and establishes a way to value and reward all types of work -- caring for our children, elders, and others who need it, building community, helping out our neighbors.
Stephanie is part of the Dane County Time Bank (located at http://www.danecountytimebank.org/), a network of individuals and organizations in Dane County working to increase efficiency, opportunity and resource sharing through mutually beneficial exchange -- building community ties and community self-sufficiency.
When you need something like minor home repair, child care, companionship, an exercise buddy, whatever -- look on Community Weaver and contact a member directly, or call the Timebank coordinator and ask. The coordinator will set you up with a neighbor, who has had an interview and basic background check like every other Timebank member, who can help you. After the neighbor helps you they or the coordinator deduct one Time Dollar per hour of service from your account and adds the same number of Time Dollars to your neighbor's account. You can earn back the credit by helping anyone else in the network. You can also accumulate a few debits before you need to pay them back. It's easy to ask for help when you need it!
As another example. the Echo Park Time Bank is a collective whose purpose is to facilitate the cooperative exchange of goods and services among its members. It is a pay it forward system that connects unmet needs with untapped resources. For every hour you help another member, you earn a Time Dollar. Then you can use that Time Dollar to have a neighbor help you: getting a ride, learning the computer, getting a haircut, gardening, etc. Time Dollars value everyone’s contributions equally. One hour equals one time dollar. Time banking can help people to save money, create new friendships and develop new habits as consumers. We can empower each other by sharing the wealth of resources in our community, and by creating a network based on trust.
To learn more about Stephanie, listen to her music and learn more about her projects, go to www.stephanierearick.com
Read Regina's blog "When Cash is no longer King"
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