Print | Close Window
News Page
Welcome to the news from around the Time Banks UK network. Please click on the links below to visit the latest news on:
Improving Services and Support for Older People with Mental Health Problems
The final report of the UK Inquiry entitled �Improving Services and Support for Older People with Mental Health Problems� has been issued today. A copy of the report can be downloaded from www.mhilli.org. The report has been featured on the national news.
Page 72 of the report uses the Rushey Green Time Bank as a case study.
Haringey Time Broker Job Description
The role of the Time Bank Broker is to set up a Time Bank in Haringey and to manage the day to day running of the Time Bank project by recruiting and training members, linking them up, and initiating projects to involve participants in health and environmental improvements for themselves and their community.
Please click here for the job description for this job (172Kb Word document)
European Time Banks Youth Project 2007
Time Banks UK and other European time banks organisations are aiming to further the involvement of young people (under 25) in community activities and projects and increase the influence of young people in the development of time banking in various countries across Europe.
Please click here to read more about the project (52Kb Word document)
Flood recovery - keeping the community spirit going
Gloucestershire residents are being urged to keep the community spirit going in the flood recovery period by calling a special phone line to get help or offer assistance.
Gloucester Time Bank has teamed up with BBC Radio Gloucestershire to set up the Good Neighbour scheme through the station�s CSV Action desk. Local people who need help are being urged to call the action desk number where their details will be noted and passed on to the Gloucester time bank who will match them with people offering assistance.
Gloucester time bank co-ordinator Reyaz Limalia said: �Radio Gloucestershire approached us with the idea as they knew we linked people together in exchanges and this is just an extension of the work we do in the community anyway.�
CSV Action Desk producer Camilla Bassett-Smith explained:� We know from the 100s of calls and emails we�ve had since the floods arrived that there are many people across the county want to do something practical to help or that need help themselves.
� With this scheme people can help in all sorts of ways from replanting a ruined garden, doing the shopping, cooking a meal, walking the dog or doing a bit of decorating.�
Tewkesbury-based Priors Park time bank co-ordinator Carol Batsford said : �One of our members was affected by the floods, but has helped others by collecting and delivering water, collecting shopping and other goods as well as offering friendly support. In return she has received help with clearing damaged items from her home and the project have supported her with telephone calls and advice.
�Again, we have a member who drives around in a mobility scooter, but she has helped with the delivery of water and provided friendly support to those in need, and received help with shopping and collection of prescriptions. We have also had members donate clothing, toiletries and other items as well as members collecting furniture for the flood affected victims, with members travelling some distance to collect goods.�
The Good Neighbour scheme can be contacted on the BBC CSV Action Desk number 01452 331133.
ENDS
For further information please contact Stella Parkes at Time Banks UK on 01452 541027 or 07725 574435
Bath Time Bank Needs a Broker
The deadline for applications is 16th August - please request further details from Envolve (tel 01225 787910) or email [email protected] or call Sarah Bird on 01225 442813 for further information about the position.
2007 International Time Banking Conference, Time Banking in Action
November 1-3, Madison , WI, USA
Co-sponsors: TimeBanks USA , the Dane County Time Bank, and the University of Wisconsin , Madison .
Find out why, where and how Time Banking will be leading the way on social change in the 21st Century!
For more information, go to the Time Banks USA website
Time Broker job for Richmondshire Time Bank
Time Broker and Development Worker - Richmondshire
Part-time 15 hours per week
Salary �15,459 pro rata
Funded to March 2010
Richmondshire Time Bank is a network of people willing to share their skills and experience to help others. The role of the Broker is to manage the day to day running of Richmondshire Time Bank by recruiting and supporting members, linking them up, and initiating projects to involve participants in health and environmental improvements for themselves and their community. The broker will be based in Catterick Garrison and work closely with but not exclusively with the Army Welfare Service and service families and individuals as well as ex-service families and individuals.
Car driver essential.
Closing date: 17th August 2007 - Interview Date: 6th September 2007
The successful applicant will be employed by Richmondshire Council for Voluntary Services under a joint management arrangement with Richmondshire Time Bank.
For an informal discussion contact:
Kevin McGready, Chair, Richmondshire Time Bank on 07779 587248
For an application pack contact:
Mary Foster
Richmondshire Council for Voluntary Services
6 Flints Terrace
Richmond
North Yorkshire
DL10 7AH
Tel: 01748 822537
Email: [email protected]
Knowledge Base
You may have already heard of Knowledge Base - a free bank of downloads, ideas and case studies, put together by the UK's leading management and fundraising professionals for the not-for-profit sector.
Special Offers Updated
The Special Offers area of the members website has been updated to include a great offer from a member of the New Addington Time Bank who has just set up in business as The London School of Locksmiths.
He is offering 25% off all courses for members of UK time banks. The courses range to suit all levels, from absolute beginner to someone wishing to further their career.
For more information, see the special offers area of the members website.
�Getting Real� - Co-production, Time Banking and Mental Health
This Conference Report, which has been co-produced by the delegates and the organisers, is an inspiring record of a very special day and a call for action. It will be an invaluable resource for people involved in planning, providing or receiving mental health services. The Conference and the Report mark the beginning of a campaign to actively engage users and the local community as partners in the design and delivery of services � for real!
Click here for the conference report (922Kb pdf document)
�Getting Real� is a partnership between NSIP, SLAM, Capital Volunteering, nef and Time Banks UK. We want to thank everyone who has given their time and expertise so generously in the co-production of this report.
One good turn - neighbourhood time banking
Not so long ago we knew our neighbours, we knew which of them would do us a favour and they knew we were happy to help them out in return. Life has changed. People live more isolated lives and our friends and family don't always live nearby. Now it's not so easy to ask a neighbour for help or see if you can help them, particularly if you don't know them very well.
Now a national charity, Time Banks UK, has come up with a step-by-step guide to help people build back that sense of good neighbourliness and trust in their street. Called One Good Turn it shows how a group of people can help each other out and help themselves at the same time.
Martin Simon executive director of TBUK explained: �The idea is simple but effective -it�s based on the idea of give and take � or one good turn deserves another. Everyone's time is valued equally and one hour equals one time credit. It works like a babysitting circle so if you give an hour of your time to help somebody, you can claim an hour's help from somebody else when you need it.�
The step-by-step guide takes people through all the stages needed to set up a neighbourhood time bank using a small group of friends and neighbours. It covers the background to time banking, how time banking works and various checklists and information sheets to help people to get started quickly.
Martin Brennan TBUK trustee and time broker at The Time Exchange in Arthur�s Hill, Newcastle said: �You can help people by doing things like shopping, cooking, offering a lift or walking the dog as well as simple repair and gardening jobs. Everyone has something to offer and everyone is welcome.�
�Time banking has been around in the UK since1998 and is thriving in more than 20 countries worldwide so has a proven track record of success, �said Mr Simon. �We hope that people will have a go at setting up a time bank on an informal basis to begin with and then when it grows, turn it into a more formal organization with a paid organiser. There are more than 80 of these already operating nationwide including the one at Arthur�s Hill in Newcastle.�
Anyone interested in starting a neighbourhood time bank can get a free copy of the guide by calling 0800 6941391 or download it from www.timebanking.org.uk
ENDS
For further information contact Nicola Wylde in Newcastle on 0191 245 0663 or Stella Parkes at TBUK HQ, Gloucester on 01452 541027
For more information about time banking in action contact the time broker, Martin Brennan on 0191 245 0663 at The Time Exchange in Arthur�s Hill, Newcastle
Responses to public consultations
Martin Simon's reponses to public consultations
Click here to read about the select committee and public services consultation (46Kb Word document)
Click here to read the covering letter to the Commission for the Future of Volunteering (300Kb Word document)
Click here to read call for evidence 1 - Commission for the Future of Volunteering (416Kb Word document)
Click here to read call for evidence 2 - Commission for the Future of Volunteering (329Kb Word document)
News Cuttings
We are keeping a record of all articles on the subject of Time Banking that appear in the local and national press. If you see an article in your local paper can you send a copy to Jim Rollinson at Time Banks UK?
I met recently with, Angela Catley, Homeshare Project Manager for NAAPS (National Association of Adult Placement Services) We discussed ways in which our NAAPS & time banks could work together and as a first step I thought some time banks might be interested in linking up with NAAPS members that live in their neighbourhood.
NAAPS offers accommodation and support from local families to people with needs as an alternative to going into residential care. Like Time Banks, NAAPS look at alternative ways of doing things that gives and builds greater independence for people whilst at the same time giving them the support they need and opportunities to meet new people. Attached is a brief summary about NAAPS that Angela has provided to give you an insight into the work they do. If you want to find out even more take a look at their website www.NAAPS.co.uk
Would you be interested in your time bank linking up with NAAPS ? If you are please get in touch with me [email protected] and let's see if we can find ways for you to work together.
Joy Robinson
TBUK Development Worker
Archived news items
2007
JRF Evaluation of the co-production process
Over the last two years action researchers, the Welsh Institute for Community Currency (WICC), the Gorbals Initiative and the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust have worked with the new economics foundation to find current practical examples of co-production and opportunities for the future.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published an evaluation of the co-production process.
Hidden work: Co-production by people outside paid employment by David Boyle, Sherry Clark and Sarah Burns, looks at the concept of co-production, the process whereby public service clients work alongside professionals, often in the local community to make their work more effective, to see how it works, how much it helps clients and public services, and how public services can best be broadened in this way. As the debate on the future of public services increasingly looks to the participation of ordinary people alongside professionals, this is the first comprehensive piece of research in the UK to look at co-production as a possible way forward.
Hidden work: Co-production by people outside paid employment is available now as a free PDF download or as a paperback report, priced �16.95, from http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/details.asp?pubID=796. A free summary can also be downloaded from the JRF site http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/pdf/0356.pdf.
May 2006
Time Online- new timekeeper software for Full Members
Time Online is now operational for Full Members. Just go to the Members Login Page and key in your usual login in the green box. The manual will take you through it all step by step at your own pace. It's very different to the old Timekeeper so take your time to get used to it. Support and training are available by contacting [email protected]
The new online version of TimeKeeper, tailor made for UK time brokers who are full members of TBUK went into production late last year. Following extensive feedback, it was adapted and improved to produce today�s finished product. Incorporated into the new design are facilities such as a diary on the home page to remind you of up and coming events and assignments, new methods to find participants on the system, the ability to quickly add and credit group or single assignments (and edit them), a great array of reports available to print off � including charts, a mail merge, label printing and much more.
With the updated design, the new system will be a very welcome addition to the members� section of the TBUK website. There is even the option to have your members� names and addresses transferred onto the new system for you and you can set up a starting balance for each one too. It couldn�t be easier to get up and running with the all-new TimeKeeper!
Security is always an issue when doing anything online, but don�t worry. We are implementing the same level of security as banks use .By using the usual members� unique login, each member time bank can only see their own data online, and no-one else has access to it. The database will be in one central place online and our providers take regular backups.
The next stage of development will be getting the national time exchange up and running. We welcome your input as to how this will work but it is hoped that time brokers will be able to exchange hours not only with TBUK, but with any other time bank member in the UK running the new TimeKeeper software.
Time Banking in Action � the power of social networks
The fourth Time Banks UK conference was held last week on 4 and 5 May in Cardiff. It was a complete sell out, and very well received by everyone. All of the materials used during the conference will be available here on the website shortly for downloading.
Click here for more photos
Click here for conference materials
Click here for conference feedback (36Kb Word document)
April 2006
21st century volunteers give and take
A new breed of 21st century volunteers is emerging who want to give and to receive from their involvement and time banking is the simple method they can use to fulfil their needs.
Paul Goggins, UK Minister for Volunteering said this week: �A recent report on volunteering by Joe Saxton* asserted that in the 21st century, volunteers are increasingly motivated by what they can personally achieve through giving their time to a charity or other volunteer involving body.
�Some initiatives such as time banking put this motivation at the heart of the volunteer experience. I welcome this trend. Those who give their time have every reason to expect to be able to make a difference to the organisation and issue that they choose to volunteer for � every right to see volunteering as a way of achieving their own ambitions.�
Time banking started in the UK in 1998 where the first time bank was set up in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire under the name of Fair Shares. Now there are 80 time banks nationwide which are all linked together by the umbrella charity Time Banks UK based in Gloucester. Most time banks involve between 100 to 200 people.
Chair of the Trustees, Martin Farrell said: �The time banking movement is taking hold all over the country. Setting up a time bank can unlock the often untapped resource of time, skills, wisdom and care already there in any community just waiting to be invested.
�Giving and receiving binds us together in communities. And the even better news is that this simple mechanism � time banking - delivers this reciprocal giving and receiving in a safe and reliable way which respects what each individual can offer for its value to other people rather than its cash value.�
February 2006
Community and Time Banking the �Tool� and New �Vehicles� Helping to Change the Direction of Prisons and the Probation Service
On February 6th the Fair Shares Gloucester Time Bank and HMP Gloucester Seminar held at the Civil Service Club, Cheltenham was very well received by Prison Officers and Time Brokers, who came from as far a field as South Wales, Exeter, London and Glasgow!
It was an opportunity to see just how ideal time banking is as a �tool� to help the National Offenders Management Scheme initiative due to be launched in April this year. This scheme will transform the current Probation and Prison Service dealing with resettlement and sentence management. Community linked work will be strengthened and time banking has been recognised and acknowledged as a means of support for inmates and their families in and outside of prison through the use of an alternative currency and community support mechanism. Prisons can access more services and support in the prison and in their Family and Visitors Centres to assist with the Family Pathways related work. Essentially time banks can help with family cohesion, resettlement, reintegration, and the reduced likelihood of re-offending.
In Gloucester prisoners refurbish bicycles for accreditation and time credits for their use and their families, or other beneficiaries. In other prisons current activities have been identified as ideal vehicles for time banking and create mutual benefit for the prisoners and the wider community through a local time bank or the creation of new time banks. What we need to do is link the work through already developed safe practices, policies and procedures to achieve a vast network of interrelated support for this work.
Is their a prison near your time bank? Want to know more? Call Julie Baxter 01452 415900 or email [email protected]
A workshop exploring this will be available at the Time Banks UK Conference on May 4th and 5th, Cardiff.
Success for time banking in prison volunteer scheme
A leading volunteering charity was today gearing up for a major event which will highlight the result of a groundbreaking partnership with Gloucester Prison.
The Gloucester Time Bank is staging a free workshop on Monday, February 6, to show other prisons and time banks across the country the success of a new scheme which helps support both prisoners and their families.
Under the innovative new scheme prisoners can learn new skills and provide for their families by volunteering to restore old bicycles so they can then be delivered to poor communities in the developing world.
In exchange for their efforts, every minute of the time they volunteer is held with the time bank and their families on the outside can then "cash in" the time to get help from volunteers with jobs ranging from decorating to shopping.
The initiative, which has been funded by a Sure Start Strengthening Families grant, has proved so successful that chiefs at Gloucester Prison and the Gloucester Time Bank are hoping it will be adopted across the country.
Gloucester Time Bank manager, Julie Baxter, said: "The project is working really well and now we are at a point where we want to share our success with others to encourage them to set up similar schemes.
"The Prison Link Project is done in partnership with HMP Gloucester Resettlement team and the Castle Gate Family and Visitors Centre and enables prisoners and their families to give and receive help.
"This combats isolation and makes people feel part of the wider community as well as giving them a positive contribution to make."
Under the project the time bank is also working with the prison discharge board so prisoner's can be referred to their local time bank following their release.
The workshop, which is being held at the Cheltenham Civil Service Club, will cover how prisons, time banks and the probation service can form vital links and examine how time banking can work with the National Offending Management Schemes and the Regional Offending Management Schemes.
February 2006
Georgia in the Snow
TBUK development manager Joy Robinson�s diary 25 Jan
�It is 2.10pm now and I have been working with the World Vision people who will be running out the training programme with me. We will be doing a full days training here at the World Vision headquarters in Tbilisi tomorrow (26 January) and are expecting around 15 people.
� Everyone is telling me that this amount of snow in the capital is almost unheard of - first for 20 or more years and it has taken everyone by surprise. Some people will be travelling in from the regions for the training but we are not sure how many will be able to make it as the roads outside the city are pretty treacherous and icy. Hopefully, some will be
able to get here by train.
�Our schedule for the whole trip may have to be changed too as all of the regions we planned to work in are between 3 and 6 hours drive from here - once again weather conditions will dictate as to whether it is safe todrive there. Last thing I want is to end up in a snowdrift in the mountains and find myself sleeping in the car. Most of the people at the
World Vision office speak English and have made me very welcome - they are also very enthusiastic about time banking which helps. Nutsi, the manager here and my direct contact, is already thinking about more international work - running time banking across other parts of Eastern Europe and Asia with me working with her on these projects.�
Diary entry 26th January (27Kb Word document)
Diary entry 27th January (21 Kb Word document)
Diary entry 28th January (24Kb Word document)
Diary entry 29th January (26Kb Word document)
Diary entry 30th January (22Kb Word document)
Diary entry 31st January (22Kb Word document)
Diary entry 2nd February (21Kb Word document)
Georgia on our mind - press release (27Kb Word document)
October 2005
People�s Poetry on National Poetry Day, October 6th 2005
�Poetry is about little things. Fleeting moments, unimportant corners where we rarely look.
Time banks are about little things too. Using skills we forget we have, maybe just to phone someone up to see how they are, knowing that little things can actually change the world.
I hadn�t predicted it, hadn�t expected it but that�s the beauty of time banking, it�s about creating a space for people to decide what they can and really want to do, instead of having things done to them or for them.�
David Boyle � Co founder of London Time Bank, the capital�s time banking network.
London Time Bank Poetry Project
The London Time Bank Poetry Project was launched on National Poetry Day two years ago (October 3rd 2003).
During this time 17 time banks from all over London have taken part.
We produced 2 books in the first year of the project with funds from Carnegie UK Trust:
Angelltown�s Book of Poetry (to get hold of a copy, please contact Karen directly)
London Time: Poetry from London�s time banks (PDF file 466kb)
This year, thanks to funding from the Arts Council, we have many more people involved and by working individually and together and collectively, we have been able to get to here:
Putting on a performance at The Poetry Society�s own Poetry Caf�, on National Poetry Day with the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion kick starting our People�s Poetry Event.
The project has not only provided inspiration for the poets amongst us but it has also provided inspiration to those who have been working in the background � time bank brokers, project managers and event co-ordinators.
We�ve not only seen and heard poetry of an impressive standard but we have also seen and felt some of the support; understanding; shared learning; empathy; pride and admiration that are being exchanged within the sessions.
Poets from 10 London time banks took part in the performance � do have a look at some of the photo�s.
poetrysociety.org
andrewaitchison.com
Contact Karen Lyon, Project Coordinator, on 020 7820 6331 or [email protected]
December 04
Yorkshire & Humberside Networking Event 6th December
Time For Hemsworth, the West Yorkshire time bank hosted a networking event for current Yorkshire and Humberside regional time banks or time banks in planning. The day was used to promote best practice in time banking, to share ideas, to discuss positive and negative experiences and generally to provide a network of support.
November 04
Islington Time Bank Network Conference : 8th November 04
The Islington Conference took place at The Resource Centre in Holloway Road. It aimed to:
- raise awareness of Time Banking;
- provide an opportunity for people to express their views, concerns and ideas for the way forward;
- establish links with public service providers, funders;
- establish links with anyone interested in setting up further Time Banks across the Borough and elsewhere.
The key themes were:
- Health & Social care
- Education & Lifelong learning
- Business, Jobs & Training
- Environment & Sustainability
Each workshop was facilitated by a Time Broker and a professional in the field a nd the afternoon session focussed on fundraising with a panel to provide an introduction to their funding criteria.
For more information please visit the Islington time bank network website.
October 04
Dr Edgar Cahn�s speech at Social Services Conference, 20 October 04
At the invitation of the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS), Dr Edgar Cahn was key note speaker and TBUK ran a supporting workshop at the ADSS National Conference in Newcastle on 20 October.
The Association of Directors of Social Services represents all the directors of social services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the conference hall in the Civic Centre, Newcastle was packed for Edgar's powerful speech building on his theme of �No More Throwaway People�.
Martin Simon and Kika Williamson from Time Banks UK ran a workshop called �Co-production: re-engaging the missing pieces� in the afternoon which drew on the experience of time banks as a practical way to involve those normally regarded as �clients, target groups, beneficiaries and recipients� as co-producers of their well being and the well being of society at large.
Time Banks UK leaflets were distributed in every conference pack and Martin Simon wrote a think-piece within the ADSS magazine which ended with this quote:
�A blunt truth is that most of the hard cash from government targeted on social welfare is used on infrastructure and on the cost of employing professionals helpers. A great deal of energy is then used, quite sensibly, by these professionals on building their own social networks to enhance the quality of their work and their own well being.
You can read the full text of this article here.
May 2004
Famous name opens Avalon Fair Shares, Glastonbury
 |
Avalon Fair Shares took part in the Glastonbury Green Fair, on May Bank Holiday Monday at the Glastonbury Town Hall and were paid a visit by none other than Glastonbury Festival�s Michael Eavis, who is very interested in the project, how it is benefitting locals (some participants are well known to him) and how it reminded him of the �baby-sitting circle� he was involved in when his children were small.
This is the second meeting with Mr. Eavis, who also had a long talk with Rachel Storey and Jon Cousins on how the project works at the Somerset Environmental Business Awards in April |
February 2004
Time banks and public services
New article published in the New Statesman magazine on how time banking and co-production can help provide a possible solution to the failure of public services by David Boyle, a trustee of Time Banks UK and an associate at the New Economics Foundation. See Articles section for the full text.
November 2003
Birmingham Seminar
A very successful meeting was held for time brokers across the country in Birmingham. You can read here the impressions of a new time broker, Laura Murgatroyd of Time for Action in Barton Hill, Bristol.
The opening address by Martin Simon, Acting Director of Time Banks UK is given in full in our Presentations Section.
March 2003
Time Banking Time Banks UK hits 100,000 hour milestone!
A lifetime's worth of community self-help catalysed by UK time banks
In just five years time banks have exchanged 100,000 hours of time credits - the equivalent of 50 years of full time work.
In an age of political apathy and disillusionment, the 80 community time banks currently operating in the UK make it easy for people to get involved and to make a difference. They encourage community participation and actually reward participants, and so strengthen community activities.
The success of time banks comes from the fact that they evolve in response to the needs and skills of participants, and the environment in which it is based - which makes time banking a flexible tool that can respond to local issues. People are able to participate informally, close to home.
Reaching 100,000 hours of community self help exchanged is a real success for UK time banks.
Print | Close Window
TIME BANKS UK, City Works, Alfred Street, Gloucester GL1 4DF
T: 01452 541439
E: [email protected]
| 
