A COVID-19 community timebanking response platform

Aim

We have launched a free national timebanking platform to help people who are self-isolating through the Coronavirus.

Timebanking UK and Made Open have come together to launch a (temporary) national timebanking platform. It’s free to use and for anyone living in the UK.

Our main aim is to help people who are self-isolating to access support and stay connected during this time of crisis.

We believe vulnerable people in local communities can use this platform to request support during the pandemic, and those who are able can offer their time to meet the demand. 

The platform however has operating costs, and we are currently financing this endeavour ourselves. We are looking to Crowdfunder to support this social movement as we seek to mobilise a community giving response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who are Timebanking UK and Made Open?

We are two community-focused organisations whose experience puts us in a unique position to help.

• For 18 years, Timebanking UK have helped people to help one another in communities (running errands, collecting prescriptions, picking up some shopping etc) and we are renowned for providing best practice on how to help and support each other safely.
• Made Open are a B-Corp Certified (service) design and technology company that has developed a unique social networking platform to support online timebanking and various other ways to share resources.

We have joined forces to create this timebanking platform for the nation. Currently, we are sustaining this platform and the efforts to resource it ourselves. We'd of course welcome any offers of financial and physical support.

Who is this platform for?

This platform is available to anyone living in the UK. You can also use this platform if you live outside of the UK and are trying to support people living in the UK.

Our primary aim is to facilitate the exchange of offers and requests between people in communities. Whilst this is a peer-to-peer platform, Timebanking UK are also issuing a national call-out for street / neighbourhood coordinators who can perform duties to connect others. The street coordinator role is to post offers / requests on behalf of other people and check that users of the platform are who they say they are. 

Street coordinators should be skilled at delegating - it is not their role to complete all the activities but to find out what is needed and who can help achieve it, and to log the activity on our platform.

How it works?

You will need to complete a two-stage registration process to join the timebank:

• Step 1: Register on this platform.
• Step 2: Apply to join the timebank (we aim to approve all applications within 24 hours).

Once you have joined the timebank, registered users can post offers of help and post requests for help. Joining the timebank means signing up to our timebank terms and conditions, which offer guidelines for keeping you and your loved one safe. If you are requesting help on behalf of a vulnerable or elderly relative / neighbour / friend, for example, please ensure you don’t reveal any personally identifiable information about them. Just describe what you need and where (broadly) you need it.

TBUK can support and guide the street coordinators while ensuring timebankers know how to stay safe. While we have guidelines and work upon the assumption that people will help one another to the best of their abilities, this is not a professional service, and all activity takes place at your own risk.

The cooperative nature of timebanking ensures that all members must give an hour to get one back. Given the rapid nature of this pandemic, we’d rather you focus more simply on giving and receiving help, and logging your actions afterwards.

How you can help

To all the GPs, Link Workers and VCSE organisations out there, please help by sharing this platform with others and perhaps offering your support. To all the businesses, local authorities and government organisations out there, please help if you can offer any financial assistance or resources to sustain this platform going forward. We are mindful that our software costs could become unsustainable if we experience high demand for this platform.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 12th May 2020