Saturday 20 August 2011

Timebanking in Hastings - Press Release on how we are all now richer through offering & multi-party giving/trading our skills (Part 1)


The brief update on the time-banking work I'm doing is as follows:
- I was visited by Adam Chugg, the CEO of 3VA who is interested in skills sharing, and for the time being I suggested he use www.streetbank.com . I also created for him the example blog called lawyersdaysout.blogspot.com
- I have invited the director of streetbank.com to my office in September, and we will be talking about next steps.
- Dr Edgar Cahn, the (US) founder of time-banking, whose talk I recently attended, announced an Open Source timebanking software application being launched in December; I'm keen to work with this.
- Finance for running the Hastings & St Leonards Action for Happiness & Mediation Support Ltd Centre currently runs out in September, issues related to funding will delay forward progress.
- The date I officially wish to launch the time-bank coincides with something called "AGoodWeek" in 2012 -18th -24th June.
- Meanwhile Mediation Support Ltd have begun phase 1 of the time-bank by offering to provide for "Hastings Pier Trust volunteers a free hour on a course or an event for every hour's volunteering work that is done for the Trust. This is intended to be the start of a time-banking initiative in Hastings & St Leonards that enables more people to benefit from each other's skills without paying money, and that values an hour of each person's time equally."
- It has been inspiring to meet Erica, who works three days a week for a time-bank in London as a volunteer, and would only require one day a week's funding to move to Hastings to do this work here.
video: http://youtu.be/Bap4ENK0px0
- If funding opportunities enable an earlier official launch to the timebank than next June, I will engage with this earlier.
- One of the next steps is to contact act with an organisation called Circles Network who were recently awarded nearly £19k to deliver a Time bank model in Wealden through 2011 Adult Social Care Commissioning Prospectus. I don’t know what Circle’s plans are in terms of future expansion or not of this scheme to other areas in East Sussex, and therefore how open they would be about discussing their plans or bid with you, but if you are able to link in some way contact details:
info[at]circlesnetwork.org.uk 


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