hOurworld's Hour Exchange - Portland, ME
hOurworld is one of two time banking organizations in the United States and is the organization chosen for affiliation by timeBanking/Lamoni.
hOurworld says this about itself:
We are Social Architects who believe that people are the true wealth of the world as their talents gracefully flow out to the benefit of all. We are grounded in the principles of simplicity and abundance and in the the joy of giving and receiving. It is our desire to help in the reclamation of local community prosperity by providing our gifts of time, training and tools in a pay it forward model within the Hour Exchange networks of hOurworld.
We strive to remove all barriers to time banking.We strive to remove all barriers to entry and membership in the time banking movement so that all may have the opportunity to contribute their time and talents and feel connected to their local community. As individuals we each participate in the community currency movement and we honor all the good people who have contributed to this system of service to others. We pay special tribute to the seven women that originally founded time banking in the United States.
We don't need another movement. We need to move together. hOurworld exists to welcome and connect all varieties of local exchanges under one roof. This allows interaction between member exchanges everywhere, as their interests and needs arise. The hOurworld Train the Trainer program teaches the fundamentals for organizing, building and enriching new and existing time banks. This model provides a recipe for program nurturing and growth towards maturity. As each new exchange develops it can seed another through the sharing of resources. And that exchange will seed another... and another... .
Hour Exchange Portland which is affiliated with hOurworld is a community service exchange of neighbors helping neighbors where everyone's time is equal, no matter what the service is being provided. The Hour Exchange empowers individuals, organizations, and businesses to help each other meet their needs cash free in one-to-one exchanges and group projects. This is their story:
"This concept of naturally sharing our skills and bartering for services ... is flourishing in Portland, Maine [which is affiliated with hOurworld]. More than 600 people have exchanged over 20,000 hours of time through the Portland Hour Exchange. Anyone can list various skills or services they can provide, such as a ride to the airport, handyman services, massage, or web design consultations. One hour of time is donated to someone who needs it, and then that hour is deposited into the system, which then can be exchanged for another service that you may want or need sometime down the road." (Huffpost Healthy Living)
hOurworld offers its software - Time & Talents - free to its members. It is easy for new members to join and learn, and easy for coordinators to manage and comprehensively report on their members and activity. hOurworld believes communications between members, groups and coordinators should be simple and easy to access. As a result, every member has control over privacy and content. Following is a brief history of Time & Talents: