Home   How Does It Work?   Easy Exchange Website   FAQ- Questions   Why TimeBanking?   Membership Info   Events Calendar   Blog Contact Us   Help Spread the Word   Become a Sponsor About Us  TimeBanks in the News TimeBank USA Info About TimeBanking *Members Only*   Discussion Boards   LOGIN- Exchange Website  Ironclad, Simple Privacy Policy All membership info and exchange records are fully private and will never be shared in any way with any person or corporate entity. Everyone is honoured and empowered to add their unique value to their neighbours and community.  Email Us Become a Sponsor  of the TimeBank   TimeBank Phone: 778-232-5388 (message service only. Leave your question and your call will be returned.) Membership Info Lower Mainland TimeBank Lower Mainland TimeBank Vancouver, B.C., Canada      "Community is the relationships it’s members build and share."   TimeBanks USA Story: In April, after Diane Luszey became a member of Southern New Hampshire Time Exchange, she donated a half-hour to Kerry Boggis, a member who was seeking help balancing her checkbook. For her efforts, Luszey, a consumer benefits manager at the Area Agency of Greater Nashua, earned credit for a service of her choosing – and not necessarily one performed by Boggis. The program, unlike counterparts set up in storefronts, is run from the Area Agency on Canal Street. It was designed to broaden the social networks of agency consumers whose personal contacts are often limited to family members, social workers and caregivers. The Boggises and Luszey were among the first members of the local exchange. Leslie Boggis went to the movies with a woman who doesn’t drive, earning a credit she plans to use for another service on the list. Likewise Luszey qualified for a service of her choosing after helping her match. Exchanges are not direct. Instead, the project promotes a circle of giving and receiving. Members ask for what they need – babysitting or pet sitting, music lessons, meal preparation, baking, sewing, car detailing, an oil change and more – and return the favor with one from a similar list of services approved by the agency’s insurance company. The woman Leslie Boggis accompanied to the movies, for example, volunteered to make a social phone call to another member recently released from the hospital. Luszey said she was thinking about using her earned credits to ask for a home-baked item she could freeze to have on hand for unexpected guests. The program is open to anyone 18 and older who provides references, passes a criminal records check, and if offering transportation, passes a driver’s check. Members must also agree to respect each other’s confidentiality. "It’s a different way of thinking," Leslie Boggis said during an interview last week at the Area Agency. Agency colleague Pat Zambri agreed. "Years ago, people used to know their neighbors. If someone had a new baby, you brought a casserole," said Zambri, a developer with Boggis of the exchange. "We don’t know our neighbors as well as we used to. This is getting to know your neighbors." To foster the program, organizers said they plan to hold occasional evening socials where members can meet each other and discuss exchanges. "We’re hoping members’ enthusiasm will help with sustaining this," said Zambri, adding that the exchange is supported with grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Endowment for Health. Jaime Andrews, the AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer who joined the agency last week as exchange coordinator, predicted that once the word gets out, the program would grow. At the same time, Southern New Hampshire Time Exchange puts a new spin on an old idea. "People may be reluctant to ask their neighbor for help if they feel they have nothing to give back," Zambri said. "This is not just charity; it’s giving back."