Neighbors helping neighbors! Get signed up to start earning ‘time dollars’ for helping others in our community, and then spend them having others help you with services you need.
East End Community Services is excited to partner with community volunteers to launch the first ‘time bank’ for the Dayton area, Dayton Time Network (DTN). A time bank member earns credits for each hour spent helping other members, which can then be spent having other members help them. It’s an organized way for neighbors to help neighbors and “pay-it-forward.” Examples of services exchanged range from help learning a skill to assistance with household chores to work on community projects. Members log their hours through free online software.
East End Community Services will be the fiscal sponsor for the volunteer-led organization, and will provide some staffing through its Community Organizer staff position. East End’s board and staff believes the time bank will be a useful tool in its mission of “building a healthy, caring and prosperous community that nurtures children toward success.” Its community center in East Dayton will serve as the hub of the network, though residents throughout the Dayton area are welcome and encouraged to join.
Dayton neighborhood associations and nonprofit organizations are especially encouraged to become affiliates of the time bank, as they can use it to engage new volunteers while rewarding their existing participants. Time banks allow for a reciprocal approach to service provision, in which all people are seen as assets with valuable skills and talents to contribute.
DTN volunteer Lisa Helm hopes that it will help make her work in organizing a downtown community garden easier: “Hopefully this encourages more volunteerism in making Dayton a better place to live and helps our neighbors to be more connected and our area more resilient.”
Time banks exist in over 470 cities, primarily in the US and UK, and range from small groups of a few dozen member to larger networks connecting thousands of individuals. The nearest time bank to Dayton is the Care and Share Time Bank of Columbus, with 340 active members.
To join the Dayton Time Network, an individual or organizational representative must first attend an orientation, which will be held monthly on the first Thursday at 6pm at 624 Xenia Avenue, beginning May 7th. Additional orientation times will likely be announced during the start-up period.
Interested individuals and nonprofits can visit Dayton Time Network’s Facebook page or contact East End’s Community Organizer, Danielle Weickert at 259-1898 or [email protected] for more information.
Join us to learn more about the international time banking movement, our
new time bank in Dayton, and how to use the free online software to record your
hours. Neighborhood associations and nonprofits who work with volunteers are
especially encouraged to attend. For more information, follow Dayton Time Networkon Facebook, or e-mail [email protected], or call Danielle at 259-1898.
Dayton Time Network Time Bank Orientation
First Thursdays beginning May 7th 6 pm,
East End Community Services,
624 Xenia Avenue, Dayton
Building community by exchanging our time and talents.