Make time to support others nearby
Looking to get more involved with your community? Check out Timebanking, a way for communities to come together to help each other with a variety of tasks.
Participants ‘deposit’ their time in the bank by giving practical help and support to others. They are then able to ‘withdraw’ their time when they require assistance with something – one hour of time given gains you one hour of ‘credit’. Locally, the Cambridgeshire housing association and social enterprise, CHS Group, has recently been awarded £50,000 by The National Lottery Community Fund (formerly The Big Lottery Fund) to support its Timebank schemes in both Littleport and Cambourne.
CHS Group has been coordinating Timebanks in these locations for five years now, and the new funding will enable the group to continue running these, as well as growing the scheme in new locations around Cambridgeshire. Particular goals include encouraging a greater number of older people to get involved, to strengthen the befriending scheme, and to increase the number of volunteer hours in both existing Timebank communities, as well as provide support to three more communities hoping to develop Timebanks.
