Time is currency at the Sebastopol Area Time Bank

One sunny summer afternoon, Ellie Kilner grabbed her sunhat, a brush and got to work painting a sculpture that wasn’t hers. She didn’t come up with the concept, design or had any hand in the creation, but she today, she became part of the process.

Kilner was assisting local artist, Beth Hartmann, put the finishing touches on her sculpture, “Support Person #1” under clear blue skies in Sebastopol Center for the Arts. The tall work of art, which weights about 400 pounds, is no doubt a massive work and like most art, has an important message. But the focus of this day, was sharing time with a fellow neighbor brought together by the Sebastopol Area Time Bank.

“This is a true neighbor-helping-neighbor operation,” said David Gill, coordinator of the nonprofit Sebastopol Area Time Bank. “It works because we get to know each other through our exchanges of talents and skills, and also at social gatherings and community projects throughout the year."

Sebastopol Area Time Bank has enabled more than 250 members to accumulate “hours” by offering their personal services like babysitting, tech help, rides to the airports, gardening, car repair, and much more, and then trading their earned hours for the skills of other members.

An estate resolution consultant in his “real life,” Gill helps members solve mysteries involving their computers and their bookkeeping, while Kilner has broadened her helping hands beyond sculpture painting.

“I have walked dogs, watered gardens and hosted members in my home,” she said. “In return, I’ve received hours of computer support, got a kitchen drain snaked, had clothing mended, my hair trimmed and cookies baked.”

Much of the help offered is not necessarily marketable, for payment, beyond the network of the time bank.

In collaboration with three time bankers, Deb Ward sought help setting up a gallery wall for her seascapes artwork. First, she created templates on paper and they designed the layout. Then Thomas Westberg climbed a ladder, drilled the holes and hung the paintings.

Artist Hartmann installed her hefty, columnar creation in the new sculpture garden at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts and that’s where Kilner put her painting skills to use.

“A fellow SATB (Sebastopol Area Time Bank) member, Karen Felker, helped me apply cement and color to it in my garage,” Hartmann said. “Isn't it amazing that members can call on so many talented nearby people to help in such different areas?”

Hartmann has been able to do her part and pay it forward, too.

“I helped a member knock down cabinets in his kitchen before a remodel and others have toured our property to suggest plantings, and have fabricated and applied screening against under-house critters,” she said.

The Sebastopol Area Time Bank launched in 2016 and since then, it’s members have accumulated more than 8,000 hours of completed exchanges. Particularly during the worst of the COVID-19 shutdown, members stayed in touch on Zoom and arranged virtual tutoring, counseling, phone chats and no-touch home grocery and medical deliveries, all of which helped to reduce isolation and out-of-pocket costs.

Service swappers around the world

As a fast-growing phenomenon in this country and internationally, time banks are well underway in most states in the U.S. and in more than forty countries. As of 2021, there were more than 40,000 members in 500-plus banks in the United States from Sacramento to Castro Valley, to Nova Scotia and Hawaii and even in Wellington, to New Zealand.

It’s all about local networks mutually supporting community members. And they’re thriving.

Founded in 1995, TimeBanks, USA, began to shepherd new time banks through a start-up framework where software allowed members to enter data about themselves, their talents and the services would like to offer the community. The data included the services members hoped to receive. This was also the home where they are able to track their earned hours.

“Within our network are time banks in most states and in dozens of countries, 15.4 million exchanges have come from our network in the U.S., the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia,” TimeBanks, USA, Executive Director and CEO Krista Wyatt said. “After the worst of COVID, we’re seeing a jump in growth, and we just started working with a group based in Ukraine.”

TimeBanks, USA, was an invaluable resource for the fledgling Sebastopol group, according to time management consultant Gayle Bergmann.

“TBUSA connected me with people who had managed banks for many years, and who were generous with their knowledge and experience,” she said. “Their resources helped orient our new group to the concept of time banking and the non-tangible benefits of positive emotions to the member providing a skill on a one-on-one basis.”

In a TimeBanks, USA, survey, 77% of members said they felt less financially stressed when they exchanged, rather than payed for, skills and services.

A core value in the system is that no money is exchanged and each member’s services are valued equally.

It’s a sort of alternative currency, an hour of gardening equals an hour of child-care equals an hour of dentistry equals an hour of home repair equals an hour of teaching someone to play chess. Services are considered volunteer work, and the IRS considers the received services as non-taxable.

Sebastopol bank services

One service Sebastopol Area Time Bank member, Terri Tachovsky remembers fondly is cooking a turkey dinner with lots of leftovers for single dad and his teenage twins.

“A new experience for me has been thinking outside the box about what I have to offer and what I need,” Tachovsky said. "There are quite a few people interested in community development, in meeting their neighbors and supporting each other.”

Some members create their bank deposits by volunteering in the community.

A recent weed-pulling and clean-up of the landscaping at Sebastopol City Hall enabled the organization to give back to the city, which is a main financial sponsor. Another volunteer opportunity scheduled for later this year, is the Repair Cafe at Chimera Art and Maker Space. The space is a free public workshop where locals bring in items to be fixed, like jewelry, small appliances, electronics and mendable clothing.

Gill said creating community in the Sebastopol area is an important part of the Sebastopol Area Time Bank mission. And the bank is funded by the city and sponsored by the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center.

“Besides finding ways to volunteer around town, we plan social events and outings so that members can get to know each other, which makes them more comfortable calling upon each other for personal help and trading talents,” he said.

A time bank has a group picnic scheduled in August and the popular “Soup and Bingo” nights are back on the calendar again, after a COVID-related delay. In the future, the bank is planning to establish a bilingual bank for Latinx members and outreach program for young adults.