Hour Exchange Portland
• A Community Valuing Time, A Way of Life
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Midwife, Stacey Brenner and Monique
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Welcome Eleanor
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Eleanor earns time dollars for music lessons
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On Service Day, a class from Kings Middle School posing with the Mayor Duson.
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Kennedy Barteaux painting a trash can.
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The finished product.
Oct 26, 2009 – Formerly the Maine Time Dollar Network, HEP is a non-profit facilitator and clearing house for community members to share services. Members volunteer whatever service they can provide, some are doctors, massage therapists, volunteer drivers, house cleaners, and child care providers just to name a few. These members provide services to other members of the Exchange, and in return they receive 'hours' in the bank to redeem for the services of others. No matter what service is provided, there is an equal hour for hour exchange.
Although one might question the value of an hours of an attorney's time compared to an hour of lawn care, the true essence is what each individual's time is worth to themselves. For example, if a professional can donate 10 hours each month to the bank, and receive that same time back in lawn care – assuming he hates to mow, he gains leisure time not spent on the tractor – priceless! The person doing the gardening may redeem his hours for music lessons for his children, and the music teacher might donate his hours to a charitable organization who will use them to serve its mission. Everybody benefits.
Another reason for my contacting HEP was to find out if there were any Gray or New Gloucester members. I thought it would be nice to do a local story about the Exchange. My contact there gave me the name of Jennie Martin, a Gray artist and Exchange member.
I met with Jennie to interview her about her experience with the exchange, next thing you know, she is reporting on New Gloucester Selectmen meetings for the Gazette and we're providing an on-line art gallery for her work.
During my interview with Jennie, I asked how and why she got involved with the exchange. She's been involved with the Exchange since 2002, initially, the impetus was a need for health care and networking with others of the same mind and values. She has provided services ranging from house cleaning to editing to providing transportation and making her artwork available to members. I asked her what she redeems her banked hours for, and with a look of total awe, she responded, "Health care, the Hour Exchange has changed my life!"
Jennie was having a series of health issues that conventional medicine coupled with the constraints of our healthcare system were unable to diagnose. After 15 years and some irreparable damage, medical professionals within the Exchange were able to diagnose her with Lyme disease. Thanks to time dollars Jen earned, through a combination of conventional and alternative treatments, including diet, thankfully, she is on the mend, but it is a slow road. Without the opportunities offered through the Exchange, who knows? She is convinced that her future would be far less bright.
Monique Bidwell has been my contact as I was preparing for this story. I attended a presentation by HEP at the State Street Church in Portland a few weeks ago. During the presentation, Monique's involvement with the organization was a topic of discussion. Although she is now employed with HEP, she started out as a member several years ago. Her story was so interesting that I decided to include it. As is my usual practice I e-mailed a list of questions to Monique. I like to have basic answers in hand before conducting a personal interview. The plan was to incorporate her answers into the story. The eloquence of her answers deems that I include them verbatim:
How old is the bank?
This Time Bank opened in 1998 and was founded by Richard Rockefeller, a local philanthropist.
What was the original name?
Maine Time Dollar Network
How many members?
We currently have about 650 active members. Approximately 15% of those are businesses or non-profits.
From where do they come?
Most of our members are located in Portland, however we do have members as far north as Auburn, as far west as Fryeburg, and as far south as Old Orchard Beach.
What is your position there?
My official title is "Member Facilitator", though I prefer Membership Maven. I do all things member care – helping orient new members to the program, engaging members in projects and activities, and answering questions members have about their accounts, just to name a few.
For how long?
I have been a member since 2001. I was hired as staff in May 2009.
When and why did you get involved in the bank?
I got involved in 2001 after moving back to Portland from traveling around the country. I had been working at State Fair, traveling with a carnival group, and I wanted to find a community similar to what I'd had on the road – one where people trusted each other, took care of each other, and became friends easily.
Can you tell me about your "time bank baby", and her participation at the tender young age of 6? (I was quite struck by your comment about 'this is all she's ever known'. What an awesome education for a kid growing up in this egocentric world.)
I became pregnant with Eleanor when I was 22 years old. At that time I was working as a house cleaner and had very basic healthcare coverage. Turns out a group of midwives had recently joined HEP, and they agreed to cover any services NOT covered by my insurance for time dollars. It was a huge relief to have this financial burden lifted, and as an extra bonus the midwives I worked with were AMAZING. At 6 years old, Eleanor now knows she's "The First Time Dollar Baby" and announces that to people at every HEP event. But I think she is also beginning to really understand what that means. She GETS this. She understands that it's important to help others, and that the special thing about helping HERE is that she gets something in return, in this case guitar lessons. In a nutshell, Elea is the embodiment of our core values:
- Assets: Every person, even a 6-year-old, has something to contribute.
Reciprocity: She provides office work after school and receives music lessons
Equality: She earns the same amount of time dollars vacuuming and stuffing envelopes for us that every other member makes.
Redefining Work: Her services here are incredibly helpful to us – the less housework we, as staff, have to do the more we can focus on programming, the better HEP will be for everyone. Eleanor's work is essential.
Respect: Eleanor respects that we all have needs and she is doing what she can to help. And we respect her for her dedication to us.
Monique noted that Eleanor's story is a true example of how this program can come full circle.
While there are a couple of paid staffers at the Exchange, most of its administrative staff is provided by a grant from AmeriCorps*VISTA. Thanks to the grant, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteers handle public relations, marketing and countless other support duties for the organization.
Another example of the true essence of the exchange is web master Stephen Beckett. He has not only designed, but continues to develop the public website along with the internal site that tracks exchange hours and membership.
Members can be either businesses, individuals, or not for profits. CTN of Portland is one such member, in return for studio cleaning services, CTN provides members with access to studio space and equipment. Additionally, the boardroom on Congress Street is made available for the First Friday Art Walk. The space is transformed into a gallery where member artists can show and sell work, with a portion of the proceeds donated to HEP. CTN also provides advertising in return for time dollars.
Another partner with HEP is the Hour Weatherization Co-op. According to their website, "Hour Weatherization Co-op is committed to keeping our members warm one hour at a time. We have set an ambitious goal to complete step one weatherization for all members. By utilizing our structure here at Hour Exchange members will help provide the labor resource needed to complete such a task, all while earning time dollars". Basic inexpensive materials to insulate piping, along with caulking to seal cracks and gaps, and weather stripping are installed. Usually the cost of materials is under $100, and the payback period can be as little as one year.
This past September, in accordance with President Obama's proclamation of "A Day of Service and Remembrance" to commemorate the anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy, HEP worked in a collaborative campaign with the United Way to encourage volunteerism in and around Portland. One project was to have a cleanup day at Deering Oaks Park. In addition to general cleaning, HEP members painted all the trash receptacles in the park. In a nutshell, in 3 hours, 75 adults (from Hour Exchange Portland, United Way, USM, Coast Guard, SMCC, Spiral Arts, and Maine Military & Community Network) and 45 kids (from Kings Middle School) accomplished the following:
- Created 60 cards to send to troops
Collected 50 bags of garbage
Painted 15 trash cans
Painted 1 room at CTN
Something new in the works at the exchange is the concept of 'clusters'. Given the geographic extents of the membership, clusters would help to create satellite communities within the whole. For instance, there could be a Gray – New Gloucester cluster. Members would not be limited in who they could exchange with, but would be encouraged to get to know their own community more closely and be able to attain certain services more locally.
HEP asks nominal annual dues from members to help offset administrative costs. New members are welcome to use time dollars even before they have 'banked' any. According to Ms. Bidwell, ".. at the Exchange, time debt is not viewed like we view financial debt." Most members stay within $25 either way. The most important concern at HEP is that hours are being exchanged, and that members who are in a deficit position are simply making an effort to give back.
Anyone interested in a closer look at the HEP can visit at an open house on November 15th. Their office is located at 470 Forest Avenue in Portland. The Open House is from 1 to 4 PM. Here's an inside tip, the word on the street is that HEP has some of the best food pickin's at the First Friday Art Walk. Stop by on November 6th or December 4th at the CTN Office at 516 Congress Street.
You can also 'Shoppe' at the November Art Walk, on Friday the 6th, at the CTN Studio on Congress Street.
