The Mid Maine TimeBank is a project of the Kennebec Valley Organization, a 501 (c)3 non-profit. The Kennebec Valley Organization (KVO) is a broad-based organization of congregations, labor union locals, community and small business groups that brings people together across lines of religion, geography, age, ethnic group, and economic status to take action on our issues of shared concern, such as saving, strengthening, and creating good jobs, affordable housing, and critical public services. KVO is a member of the InterValley Project (IVP). IVP offers a national model of community economic empowerment. It's combination of citizen organizing and democratic economic development strategies works to save and create jobs, affordable housing and critical public services in some of the oldest and poorest industrial areas in the nation.
A TimeBank is an organization that brings people together to create opportunities to develop and exchange time and skills with other people in their community by means of Time Dollars. At it's most basic level, TimeBanking is simply about spending an hour doing something you enjoy for a person in your community. That hour then gets logged by the TimeBank as one Time Dollar. You now have a Time Dollar you can spend having someone do something for you.
Time Dollars have been found to be non-taxable in several provate IRS rulings. They may be earned by disabled persons, for example, without impacting benefits. Some tangible goods may be available for Time Dollars, if their worth can be expressed in terms of time, such as artwork or food items. Through community outreach, the Mid Maine TimeBank is looking for organizations that are willing to accept Time Dollars in lieu of money for goods, event tickets, and even education! In turn the timebank can offer volunteer and networking support to organizations, more help with the right skills for the job!
TimeBanking can change the world we live in by changing the way the public sector addresses the deep social problems our society still faces.
Children, minorities in poverty, and the elderly are especially hard hit. In these and other areas of social need, TimeBanking offers a powerful new approach for social and systems change. Timebanking adds spice, diversity, weaving of community and ways to fill gaps in local neighborhoods. The market economy does not fully express democracy or our potential as citizens. We can do more for each other, live with a higher quality of life, and place value on acts of kindness.
Dr. Edgar Cahn is the founder of time banking and TimeBanks, USA. TimeBanks, USA acts as a resource and directory for people throughout the United States and the world creating, running, or involved in time banking! For more information on TimeBanks, USA and Dr. Edgar Cahn, please visit the TimeBanks, USA website at http://www.timebanks.org/.
