Revolutionary!

I just joined a fantastic group in my community.

Family Service Rochester is sponsoring a Time Bank.

The basic premise is that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, and each hour is the same value to each of us. People can register (there is a background check in case this sounds scary) and then they list services they can offer to people and requests for services they need provided to them.

For example, right now there are listings offering babysitting, party planning, homework help, language tutoring, cooking, wardrobe consulting and more. And there are requests for car detailing, mending, video editing, horseback riding time and guitar lessons, among others.

You get a few Time Dollars (TD$) for registering, the background check, and the orientation (which is about an hour and completely painless). After that you earn 1 TD$ for each hour of service you provide to someone. Those TD$ can then be "spent" on a service you want or need.

It's a great community building tool plus a way to save some money (and who isn't interested in saving money in the current economy?). Check it out -- I have brochures if you're interested. If you're not in Rochester, check the website anyway. There are Time Banks sprouting up all over the place!