Starting this week, Clark County residents can take part in the ultimate bartering system for skills and services: the time bank.
Here’s how it works. Let’s say you donate an hour to the time bank walking someone’s dog. Later, you can cash in that hour by selecting a service listed on the time bank’s website offered by another time bank member, such as house cleaning. You can also put out a request for a specific service, such as a ride to the airport.
No money is exchanged — the only currency is time. You meet someone’s needs in some way, and someone else meets yours. Everybody’s happy.
The program, called hOur IMPACT, was launched this week by the Clark County Commission on Aging in partnership with the Human Services Council, a local nonprofit agency. The time bank’s purpose, according to commission member Karin Woll, is to enhance and strengthen neighborhoods, give individuals a sense of purpose and bring people together.
“We’re really in hope that this will take off in our community,” Woll said Wednesday.
Commission on Aging members have begun promoting the program to Vancouver neighborhood associations west of Interstate 5, but anyone in Clark County who passes a criminal background check is welcome to participate.
The services people can offer on the time bank’s website are almost limitless. Examples of services on the hOur IMPACT website include animal care, life coaching, tutoring, teaching others to knit or fish, running errands, cooking, reading aloud, sewing, hair cutting, computer help and yardwork.
“As long as it’s legal, use your creativity. It can be anything. Absolutely anything,” Woll said.
What’s critical is that when you offer your services, you also put out a call for things you need “because that keeps the circle going. It’s got to be reciprocal,” she said.
The time bank concept arose from the Commission on Aging’s community outreach in 2012 for its Aging Readiness plan, said Jacqui Kamp, a Clark County planner and commission staff member. The commission’s committees talked to the public about supporting each other through volunteering, and they researched what other communities are doing. As it turns out, there are more than 700 time banks in the United States, and some of them have more than 1,000 members, Woll said.
The local hOur IMPACT program is modeled after a 25-year-old time bank in Portland, Maine, and it uses the same software for its website.
“We’re so excited about this. We think it’s going to be great for Clark County,” Kamp said.
This year, the Commission on Aging will orchestrate the time bank while raising money to sustain the program through membership fees, grants and sponsorships. (The fundraising goal is about $51,000, Kamp said.) Once the program has gotten off the ground, the Human Services Council will take it over and assign it a part-time coordinator to keep it running smoothly.
To join the time bank, go to www.hourimpact.org. The annual cost is $35 for individuals, $70 for a family of four, $24 for college students, senior citizens and people with an income under $25,000, and $20 for students age 12 to 17. Membership rates for businesses and organizations are scaled by annual revenue and are listed on the website.
The membership fee covers program administration costs and the expense of a criminal background check and review under the Child and Adult Abuse Act for each applicant. (For safety reasons, organizers also encourage members who want to exchange services to meet in a public place before meeting privately.)
If you can’t afford the membership fee, no worries — you can arrange to work it off by donating hours to the time bank.
“Our goal is to never turn anyone away,” Woll said.
She hopes the time bank will attract senior citizens, not only because they have many needs, but also to help them reconnect with the community, especially if they feel isolated.
“If we can get people engaged back within the community in their own neighborhoods, it strengthens the neighborhoods, it helps the individuals, it gives them a reason for getting up in the morning,” Woll said. “There are just so many positive things that can come out of a time bank.”
To learn more about the Clark County time bank, go to www.hourimpact.org.
