By Grace Maselli
Whoopee, we did it! A friendly bunch of TBT members and friends kicked off the inaugural third-Tuesday-of-every-month TBT orientation and community gathering at Tampa’s Life Enrichment Center (LEC). Our Third Tuesdays are part of TBT’s revitalization initiative to dispatch our efforts further into the community by way of a metaphoric human cannonball! (It should be noted, dear reader, that the first person to be sprung thusly from a cannon was 14-year-old Rossa Matilda Richter in 1877 at London’s Royal Aquarium.)
Time and Repartee
Natural light and shared food (Read: potluck!) for attendees who gathered on Tuesday, October 16 made the welcoming LEC space even more receptive to talk on timebanking, invoking broad discussions, including those in response to showings of two videos as part of the education and togetherness vibe. One video is from the timebank in Central Vermont where approximately 1,000 services are offered covering everything from iPhone tutoring and aromatherapy to weatherization, taro card interpretations, cake baking, and reading to persons who are sight impaired. A link to the second video shown is available further below in this post. The October 16 repartee extended to the idea of community connection that time-and-service exchanges can bring—the warm and fuzzy polar opposite of social isolation.
A Wedding—from Soup to Nuts
Demonstrating the power of timebanking, one Central Vermont member had an ENTIRE wedding brought to life (dress, venue, flowers, minister, music, and maybe some Italian Wedding Soup and nuts to nosh on) thanks to our timebank cousin in the northeast! Now that’s something to write home about. TBT is thankful to LEC Executive Director Maureen Murphy who has generously opened LEC’s doors to us the third Tuesday of each month for orientations, ever-wonderful community potlucks and social events. LEC is “a private, non-profit organization whose mission is for students to fulfill their lifelong creative potential through the ageless engagement of the arts.” Their address is 9704 North Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612; phone: 813.932.0241. You can also check out our Tampa Bay Timebank-LEC Flyer right here!