FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: City of Sebastopol: Mary ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS: City of Sebastopol: Mary Gourley, MMC Assistant City Manager/City Clerk [email protected] (707) 823-1153 Sebastopol Area Time Bank: Gayle Bergmann Project Leader [email protected]

SEBASTOPOL AREA TIME BANK PROJECT GAINS MOMENTUM “Building Community One Hour at a Time”

SEBASTOPOL, CA, April 19, 2017 — After only four months, the Sebastopol Area Time Bank (www.sebastopoltimebank.org), a project of Cittaslow Sebastopol with the support of the City of Sebastopol, is already a community success. A time bank may be thought of as an ‘alternate currency’, where an hour of work earns an hour of work. Time banks give value to tasks taken for granted, such as caregiving, housekeeping, and sharing skills and talents. Participants do anything from cooking and sewing to home care and repairs. In a time bank, everyone's time is equal and everyone can contribute, empowering a strong community and wider social network. The Sebastopol Area Time Bank is managed completely through volunteers. As of April 18, 2017, there are over 337 hours in the time bank, the program has 123 members, and has made 178 exchanges. The time bank in Sebastopol serves as an income equalizer for the community; one hour of work has equal value, no matter the task. Approximately two-thirds of participants make $50,000 or less annually, but in the time bank, that doesn’t matter. Tasha Beauchamp, Co-Chair, Cittaslow Sebastopol, says "The Sebastopol Area Time Bank allows us to meet each other on equal footing as members of a shared community. Young, old, wealthy, not so wealthy. It doesn’t matter. Everyone has something to offer and everyone could use some help now and then, even with just little things. It’s a lovely way to weave the social fabric of our community."



Time bank hours also allow people to spend "time" rather than money to get services that they need. Sebastopol City Manager Larry McLaughlin adds, "As a city, we can't control the rising expenses that take up a good part of one's paycheck. What I like about the time bank concept is that it gives Sebastopol residents a way to stretch their dollars further.” Citizens Maggie Fleming and Debbie Ramirez proposed the idea of a time bank in 2014. Cittaslow Sebastopol adopted the project and by 2015 was researching the feasibility of beginning the program. From April – June 2016, a pilot program was conducted to explore the value of time banking to the community and understand how to operate the program. Participants found creative ways to contribute and help each other, and when the pilot program ended, they wanted it to continue. It was clear the time bank furthered Cittaslow Sebastopol’s community-building goals. Pilot project participants are now integral members of the administrative team. Gayle Bergmann, Project Leader for the Sebastopol Area Time Bank, is an enthusiastic advocate of the program. She explains, “Although it's counterintuitive, once people start thinking like a time banker, a lot of time is saved by doing things we like to do for others and allowing others to do the same for us. Thanks to the support of the City of Sebastopol and Cittaslow Sebastopol, time banking is free. Why not put a request out there? You could finish that stalled project, finally move that big piece of furniture, get the support you need to take the next step in your career or toward a health goal, and even find lots of help for a party - before, during and after! It's a simple, elegant system. We make a difference by being part of something positive and empowering to people of all ages in our community.” Founded in 2010, Cittaslow Sebastopol (www.cittaslowsebastopol.org) is a non-profit, community development partner of the City of Sebastopol, creating "slow" activities and programs that help to keep Sebastopol “green, local, friendly, and artistic.” It functions as a 501c3 organization under the umbrella of the fiscal sponsor of the national Cittaslow organization. # # #