Carrick leads the way for timebanking

A Carrick group has been recognised for its contribution to a volunteering initiative.
Raquel Rodriques, Volunteer Now, Professor Edgar S.Cahn and Austin Herron from Complete Community Cultivation (Carrick Community Credits).  ©Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland - 18th November 2013
Mandatory Credit -  Darren Kidd /Presseye.comRaquel Rodriques, Volunteer Now, Professor Edgar S.Cahn and Austin Herron from Complete Community Cultivation (Carrick Community Credits).  ©Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland - 18th November 2013
Mandatory Credit -  Darren Kidd /Presseye.com
Raquel Rodriques, Volunteer Now, Professor Edgar S.Cahn and Austin Herron from Complete Community Cultivation (Carrick Community Credits). ©Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland - 18th November 2013 Mandatory Credit - Darren Kidd /Presseye.com

Carrick Complete Community Cultivation has been successful in operating a scheme around timebanking - a means of exchange used to organise people and organisations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency.

The group was present for a Volunteer Now event at Stormont which heard from US Professor Edgar S Cahn, founder of Timebanking and author of ‘No More Throw-Away People’. The programme is delivered at a local level by organisations and individuals in the community. For every hour participants ‘deposit’ in a Timebank, perhaps by giving practical help to others, they are able to ‘withdraw’ equivalent support in time when they themselves are in need. In each case the participant decides what they can offer. Everyone’s time is equal, so one hour of my time is equal to one hour of your time, irrespective of whatever we choose to exchange.

Denise Hayward, director of Outreach & Engagement, Volunteer Now, said: “Timebanking is recognised as an effective way of re-establishing neighbourliness and informal volunteering, and has been particularly successful in engaging hard to reach groups. Volunteer Now believes that timebanking can offer an opportunity to address underlying societal issues by providing flexible solutions that can be tailored to different circumstances.”

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