By Grace Maselli
The life blood of any timebank is its exchanges. What a person offers to another member.
What a person receives. An hour for an hour. When the timing and need sync. No matter if you’re pulling weeds or pulling teeth. Could be a household chore. An errand to the dry cleaners. A visit to someone in the hospital. A meal for their family.
It’s the stuff of caring. Often with meaning way beyond money; rather, it’s about the actions and deeds that thread and join the interdependent fabric of community. Youth—teens—can be involved too. According to the chores list on “VeryWellFamily,” here’s a sampling of what youth might also contribute to their local timebank exchanges:
- Plant watering
- Pet feeding
- Pet walking (and litter box cleaning!)
- A scrubba dub dub of pets, pets’ things, and cars in driveways
- Babysitting (complete with chocolate chip cookie baking)
Orrr…
- Lawn mowing
- Hoisting and heaving plant cuttings into bags, then tossing bags into appropriate receptacles
- Light housekeeping for older people
- Reading/companionship to housebound folks
So consider getting your teens into the swing of timebank things. Because you never know when the effort can really make a positive difference in someone else’s life. And yours. Open our TBT timebanking flyer for more info.