Time Money Can Buy Me Love
Third Sector and Community Care, October 2000
Edgar Cahn, founder of the Time Dollar Institute in the states, visits the UK Autumn 2000.
Paul McCartney sang that money can�t buy me love. Well now it can - time money that is.
It�s the sort of money that can most benefit those with the least ��s and most time, those that need a helping hand.
Time banks are based on the concept of people using their time as money. They build credits for time they put into voluntary activities in providing health or social care and other worthwhile work in their communities. Everybody�s time is equally valued. Communities which are �cash poor, time rich� are able to trade their time providing each other with valued goods and services. They provide communities with a means of trading services which they are denied by the conventional economy, and they enable more health and social care to be provided to the most socially disadvantaged people who experience the worst health.
In Rushey Green, South East London, local residents earn and spend �time�, opening an account in the time bank held at a neighbourhood health centre. Mary is a wheelchair user who spends her time money being taken out of her house on trips. In exchange she bakes cakes for local events. Hyacinth builds up credit in the time bank by visiting an elderly blind woman. She has spent some of her time savings on getting her garden shed fixed. And it�s not only people who can trade time credits � organisations can join and use the time bank system to access additional hours and expertise from other local groups.
Edgar Cahn, founder of the Time Dollar Institute in the States that inspired UK time money initiatives, will be visiting the UK this autumn. In September he will be visiting time money projects in Chesterfield, Birmingham, Gloucestershire, Newcastle and London.
October 17th sees the UK launch of his new book, No more throw away people.
�I don�t like feeling useless � society declares a lot of people useless � the unemployed, the elderly and the young. My local time bank values what I can do � and it rewards me for it.�
Edgar Cahn, Founder, Time Dollar Institute
Time banks can save the time and resources of hard pressed health, education, community, voluntary sector and social work professionals.
The Rushey Green Health Centre can refer patients to the time bank instead of prescribing anti � depressants. This saves GP�s time and resources by allowing patients to speak to other members of the time bank rather than their doctor.
Voluntary organisations using a time bank could pay volunteers in time money, giving recognition, motivation and something of real value for their help. It can also indicate to funders the commitment of an organisation to supporting its volunteers.
A joy of the time money system is that its benefits can be widely felt. Healthier local people build healthier communities. Time banks encourage community involvement.
Participants in public consultations can be paid in Time money (older people in Watford earn time credits helping the council design and deliver local services). Local authorities and voluntary organisations can utilise the Time bank network to channel and reward those who champion local development and regeneration. Potentially, these sectors can increase their effectiveness by delivering resources where and when they are needed, by making accessible decision-making processes to a wider community. The potential of time money is vast.
It may seem like the latest crazy idea but its working in SE6, and in a dozen other locations across the UK. The Time bank UK network is growing steadily and there are plans to build a London Time bank.
Want to find out more? Contact Sarah Burns at the New Economics Foundation for information and a starter pack on Time banks.. Or meet the man himself - come to the UK launch of Edgar Cahn�s new book, No more throw away people, on Tuesday 17th October at the London School of Economics. Entry is �12.50 and includes a copy of the book.
Miracles can happen, and in the 21st century one of those miracles is that, now, time money can buy you love.
Email: [email protected] Website: www.neweconomics.org/timemoney
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