Kaaren Morris, TimeBank coordinator at Broadway Homelessness and Support, talks about everything that’s new in her project as she nears the end of Year Four…
- It’s been a busy time for Kaaren Morris who has been travelling around London promoting TimeBanking and learning more about what works for homelessness clients who are taking part
- Christmas fayres and card making sessions prove to be TimeBanking hits over winter
- An evaluation of Broadway’s TimeBank will be launched at a special event in March
It’s been a while since I’ve appeared on these pages talking about my TimeBanking project at Broadway and a lot has happened over the past few weeks and months. In all honesty, there is far too much to condense into 300 words but I’ll give it a go.
As you may already know, after three years of encouraging the use of TimeBanking within Broadway, this past six months has seen me trying to get as many homeless organisations as possible from outside our charity to get involved in the scheme. TimeBanking is a brilliant project that allows people to input hours of their skills into a collective “bank” in return for using other people’s skills at a later date. This can mean somebody gives a haircut to one TimeBanker in return for an hour of computer tuition from another member. It’s a fabulous way to get something you need and meet and build community and I’m passionate about making this a success in the homeless sector.
Some great news I heard recently came courtesy of an exciting development in the TimeBanking community in west London. The upcycling furniture social enterprise Petit Miracles, which is based in a pop-up shop in W12 shopping centre, in Shepherds Bush, is moving to a larger premises has just announced that it is keen to embrace the TimeBanking model further by rewarding its volunteers with credits and opening some spaces in its workshops for Time Bankers.
In addition, I also met Rachel at the Earls Court TimeBank and discovered that her group is now offering all sorts of skills and holding a monthly coffee morning for their members to meet and make exchanges. This group has about 10 Broadway TimeBankers within the project so we are looking forward to exchanges that will benefit Broadway and The Earls Court TimeBankers in the future.
As a charity, Broadway is also keen to strengthen its network in west London and are looking at a funding bid with TimeBanking UK to help this process. Watch this space for updates.
Looking back at some of our major successes in the latter half of 2013, in December, we had a strong artistic flavour with a visit to the Daumier Exhibition, along with a sculpture-making workshop afterwards courtesy of The Royal Academy of Arts.
Elsewhere, some of our Broadway members have been exhibiting their poetry in north London. Andrew from Survivors Poetry coordinated an exhibition at the Stoke Newington Library Gallery where another member from a Broadway hostel had his poetry on display. In addition, Some of the Hostels in West London held a Christmas fayre that afforded people an opportunity to see artwork by six clients from local hostels. This was followed a couple of days later by a Christmas card making session at our south London centre run by an external TimeBanking member from Islington.
Back outside Broadway again and TimeBanking UK has been running a number of information sessions while two other agencies who we have been encouraging to adopt the TimeBanking model have accepted invitations to learn more. Due to the interest, particularly in Oxford , we have organised a TimeBanking information session for the Oxford Homeless Pathways team alongside Crisis, our own Broadway outreach team and two other homeless agencies.
Finally, hot of the press this year is the announcement of a Time Banking special event on 26 March. If you’d like to know more about this and the evaluation of our project that we’ll be launching, please contact me for a special invitation.
So now, from everyone at TimeBanking at Broadway we hope you had a wonderful festive period and best wishes for the New Year!
Learn more about TimeBanking by visiting our webpages at: www.broadwaylondon.org/ClientLife/TimeBanking/timebanking.html
Broadway Blogs 