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Frequently
Asked Questions
What if I get into debt?
Unlike a conventional bank account, there is no penalty for being in debt.
All that is asked is that you give your time to someone else in the scheme
when the opportunity arises. We recognise that there will always be participants
who have a greater earning capacity than others. The option is given for
them to donate some of their credits to fellow members or to a central
pool to "top up" other accounts.
Isn't
this just a tax dodge
The
help you get through a time bank is often the kind of support money can't
buy - someone to talk to, a prescription collected, a letter read or written,
a homemade cake for a children's party. These are the things that a neighbour
or a family member might do for us - but not everyone knows their neighbours
or has friends and family close by. The time bank links people up to share
their skills and help so that it is mutually beneficial. But its main
emphasis is in the social sphere - linking people together and building
community - not in the economic sphere.
Isn’t
this just public services on the cheap?
There
will never be enough resources to meet everyone’s needs through
the public sector. Time banks can’t do everything any more than
the government can. What time banks can do is to help fill the gaps that
were perhaps traditionally filled by extended family and neighbours. An
important bonus is that they help us realise that we all have skills that
are valued by others. This not only creates a closer sense of neighbourliness
but also increases each individual’s sense of self worth.
Can
groups join or is it just for individuals?
Time
banks are for everyone and can include groups or individuals. They do
not have to be stand-alone projects and can link existing groups with
other members of the community. What they offer is a technology for rewarding
participation and rebuilding community. This way, you can mix and match.
Schemes can be run to suit your own community and those individuals and
groups who are part of it. Time banks are flexible: they can be skill
based, gender based, age based or more general to encompass a wide range
of ages and skills.
How
are Time Banks UK working with the TIMEBANK campaign?
Community
time banks are using time as a medium of exchange to link people together
and enable two-way exchanges of skills and opportunities. We work with
TIMEBANK, the national campaign to widely promote volunteering and to
connect people who want to volunteer with their local TimePartners (Volunteer
Bureaux). |
