According to the Oakland Daily Tribune, a group of residents is planning on opening a TimeBank in the Sterling Heights/Utica area.
Janet Johnson, a Sterling Heights resident, has put together a board of directors and plans on opening up a TimeBank in the upcoming months.
TimeBanks are a form of barter where individuals trade time. Goods may exchange hands, but services are more common, with each hour spent working being equal to any other member’s hour.
“Time banking is based on reciprocity: Members are expected to give and receive help,” according to Kim Hodge, co-founder of the Lathrup Village Timebank. “We don’t need to try and live by ourselves.”
Instead of bartering, or exchanging services one-on-one, the network connects people of all abilities, explained Michelle Foster, whose TimeBank group in Ferndale recently elected a board of directors and is positioned to get off the ground shortly.
“We’ve limited our group to residents of Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge for convenience sake and in order to develop a neighborhood connect,” Foster explained. “If it gets too big, trust issues develop. The point is to get to know people and develop camaraderie.”
See the full story at http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2010/03/28/life/srv0000007906613.txt
