Cornwall Time Bank

Time for time

After gaining support from the BIG lottery and Volunteer England, Volunteer Cornwall nows hosts 6 new Time Banks across Cornwall in addition to the St Austell Time Bank. * * * Read about it on the BBC website here * * *

People living in Bodmin, Liskeard, Newquay, Truro, East Pool or Hayle as well as St Austell will now be able to join a Time Bank and exchange their skills for someone elses. All exchanges on the Time Bank are swapped on the basis of the amount of time it took to do. So baking a cake for a hour earns a one hour time credit which can then be used to receive an hour of gardening. Its a fantastic way of swapping what you like doing for what you hate doing, its also a good way of meeting new people.  It doesn’t have to be a direct swap of skills between two people as the time credits don’t have an expiry date so you can earn time credits and then spend them having another Time Bank member help out with something. Being part of a Time Bank can also fit around your commitments.

If I was in a Time Bank what can I swap?

Basically the type of skills swapped through a Time Bank are those that you could reasonably expect your neighbour to be able to do for you, such as computer skills, car washing, language skills, cooking, cleaning, ironing, D.I.Y, sewing, baking cakes, gardening, dog walking, musical instrument lessons, decorating etc.

Time Bank members aren’t able to do tasks that need a professional like repairing a car, or doing electrical, plumbing or gas work. But there are many things that we can do. Get in touch to find out more.

What are the benefits?

Being part of a Time Bank is a great way to meet people. It is also a fantastic way of getting and giving help.  We all know it is easier to ask for help from someone if you are able to return the favour in some way, being part of a Time Bank allows you do to that. One person’s chore is another person’s joy; so if you hate ironing then why not ask a Time Bank to do it and in return you could do something for someone else that you really enjoy.

How much does it cost?

It is free to be part of the Time Bank. The only cost involved is if a skill swap incurs a cost for example if you ask a member to bake a cake then you’ll need to pay for the ingredients.

How does it work?

Once someone has joined they then list what they would like to give and take from the scheme. They can then call the Time Bank when they want to swap a skill, the Time Bank Broker then matches up the members. The Time Banks are located in Bodmin, Liskeard, Newquay, St Austell, Truro, East Pool and Hayle.

How do I join?

If you are interested in joining and you live in the towns with a Time Bank then call your nearest Volunteer Centre to find out more.

For the Time Banks in East Pool and Hayle call West Cornwall Volunteer Centre on 01209 217614 or email west@volunteercornwall.org.uk

For the Time Banks in Newquay, St Austell and Truro call Mid Cornwall Volunteer Centre on 01726 71087 or email mid@volunteercornwall.org.uk

For the Time Banks in Bodmin and Liskeard call the East Cornwall Volunteer Centre on 01579 344818 or email east@volunteercornwall.org.uk

For general information on Time Banking in Cornwall call Emily Hudson on 01726 76633 or email emilyh@volunteercornwall.org.uk

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New Time Bank opens in Mullion

Local residents in Mullion are now welcoming new members to their skill exchange scheme called ‘Helping Hands’. The project is a Time Bank through which time and skills can be swapped with other people on the scheme.

Cooking, cleaning, gardening, ironing and DIY and also hobbies such as music lessons, sewing, computers and languages can be exchanged through a Time Bank. It is free to join, and all exchanges are done of the basis of how much time it took. So one hour of giving help is traded for an hour of receiving help.

‘Helping Hands’ was the result of Mullion resident Pauline Trusler realising the wealth of skills amongst the residents in Mullion and what an exciting possibility it would be if local residents could be linked up with each other to exchange their skills.

Eager to know if a skill swap scheme was possible Pauline made contact with theWestVolunteer Centrebased in Redruth which is managed by Richard Hocking who covers Redruth, Helston and the Lizard area. He then met with Pauline and introduced her toEmily Hudson, who works as the Time Bank Development Officer for Volunteer Cornwall and who runs the St Austell Time Bank.

Pauline, delighted that such a scheme already existed, then set about telling others in the village and spreading the word. After receiving training fromEmily Hudsonof Volunteer Cornwall, ‘Helping Hands’ launched at the beginning of September and is now recruiting members.

Emily said “It’s a really exciting time, and we are really pleased to have ‘Helping Hands’ established as another Time Bank inCornwall. Volunteer Cornwall has received funding from the Big Lottery for 6 other Time Banks to be based in Liskeard, Bodmin, Newquay,Truro, Pool and Hayle so there is now an expanding list of Cornish Time Banks. We are looking forward to working with Helping Hands and hearing about their skill exchanges.”

For more information on Helping Hands in Mullion call Pauline on 01326 241695