Brattleboro Time Trade www.brattleborotimetrade.org has an opportunity to win a grant WITH YOUR VOTE. Just follow this link:
https://www.mlb.com/redsox/community/impact-awards/form
to the voting page for the Red Sox Foundation’s “Impact Award” – an award which would help BTT regain financial stability:
Please vote today! Voting ends Sunday, July 1st.
And spread the word! Any resident of New England is eligible to vote for a Vermont non-profit, so consider asking friends and family in other NE states to vote for BTT as well.
We have a chance at this, but only if you vote and get the word out!
If you need help navigating the voting process, contact Susan Rohde (518-561-2594 or susan@quietdesigns.org).
Voting for Time Trade
The link will bring you to a page with a short form, which is easy to fill out and submit. But one of the questions asks you for the website for the organization that you are voting for.
The website for Brattleboro Time Trade is:
http://www.brattleborotimetrade.org/
A bit more about the form
Another part of the form says “Does the mission of the nominated organization support social justice, diversity and inclusivity in the New England community?”
I know the organization does these things in general, but wasn’t sure of the actual mission statement. So I looked it up.
BTT’s site says the mission is “Brattleboro Time Trade provides a forum to facilitate the exchange of goods and services for the benefit of the community. It creates a system that connects unmet needs with untapped resources. By promoting the skills and knowledge of each member and enabling reciprocity, the organization empowers each of us to share our wealth of experience with others, thereby enriching the local economy.”
While not specific, this seems to hit on all three.
Diversity – a diverse range of skills for the benefit of unmet needs in the community
Inclusivity – “empowers each of us to share…,”
Social Justice – economics is social justice. “Unmet needs,” and “untapped resources”
Basic Intentions of Time Trade
When Brattleboro Time Trade was first getting underway, there were a lot of discussions about the potential value of this organization. Creating a system through which neighbors could help neighbors, particularly people whose income restricts their ability to pay cash for needed service was a central focus.
Time Trade brings together people who have a car, with people who need a ride, for example. An elderly person who needs some brawn to get an air conditioner into a window, can find someone who is glad to do it.
A particular example which means a lot to me is that when the Clark-Canal Community Association (now defunct) had purchased playground equipment, which the School Board had agreed we could install in lower yard of the Canal Street School: We needed volunteers to form an installation crew.
On the day of the installation, we worried whether enough people would show up. They did. Neighborhood people and others who responded to our call, and a significant number of Time Trade members showed up. Together we made it a successful installation.
From a chair on my front porch, I can neighborhood children enjoying the playground, and hear their laughter. It is gratifying to see that what had been a barren, depressing spot, is now bright and cheerful.
The playground is only one example of ways which might not be so apparent that Brattleboro Time Trade uplifts our community. The Brattleboro Senior Center is a member of Brattleboro Time Trade. Time Trade members deliver meals on wheels, and payment for lunch at the Senior Center is waived to our members in return for one hour of time-credit.
Our members give medical rides at no cost, including to people who are not Brattleboro Time Trade members. In the end, I personally do not see Brattleboro Time Trade so much as a “time bank” to keep track of exchanges, as though time hour credit were simply a substitute for cash. A time trade exchange has a personal and human dimension.
My experience at Brattleboro Time Trade is that the interaction we have with other members is much more than a material exchange: The real value, in my opinion, is that friendships between people who might otherwise not even have met one another, grow out of our Time Trade exchanges.
Thanks to all who voted!
Brattleboro Time Trade received the third place grant of $2000!
Many thanks to all!
Winner
Is it true? Did this work out? I heard that BTT won a Foundation Impact Award….
Tis true!
Not only the third place grant of $2000, but four tickets to a Red Sox game that we raffled off!
The Official Blurb
On the Official Website:
http://brattleborotimetrade.org/