Welcome to IsleShare.org: our county-wide time exchange

The mission of IsleShare.org is to:

• Provide a local time and skills exchange safety net of full-circle volunteering.

• Implement a sustainable social capital building model to strengthen the fabric of our island communities.  

• Help our unique island communities and economies to thrive, while sharing both the diversity of island lifestyles and the commonality of human needs being met.

• Emphasize the tangible, valuable contributions we can make as aware and respectful stewards of our local environment. Promote the well-being of our neighbors, in balance with natural resources. 

• Support social justice endeavors in restoring dignity to the individuals and groups involved.

We recognize that each person has talents to share. The overall community is strengthened when we help one another. For every hour that you help meet the needs of another member or community project, you earn a time credit for the exchange. This time credit can then be redeemed for services and goods from others. Or it can be donated to other members to help them have a means of exchange. In this way, a circle of giving and receiving is sustained as a moral agreement among members. Time and shared knowledge are the common currencies.

Naturally, you want to know that anyone you contact for services or goods will do what they say.  You already know who you can count on among your family members and friends, by your experience and their reputation.  IsleShare gives you that kind of information about each member, from the people they have already shared time and skills with.  This empowers you to use your own good judgment about who to trust, based on what others say about them.  In addition, a background check is conducted for each enrollee (with the exception of youth and those with a job that requires one).  While the information from background checks is not made public, it is kept on record by the Program Coordinator and, if applicable, may limit the scope of services that a given member can offer to other members. This keeps our exchanges safe and positive.

Getting Started with our TimeBank:

• Create a login and fill out your member profile. The coordinator will contact you.
• Attend an orientation or complete an online orientation.
• Provide an Annual Membership Fee or Other Donations: Donate button is WIP so please donate through Irthlingz.
• Post some skills and talents you wish to offer other members.
• Post some requests for skills or talents that other members can provide for you.

Ongoing Use of the TimeBank: 

• Be quick to respond to an offer or request. This is how new relationships and opportunities for sharing are built.
• Respond to calls or emails you receive from other members about the requests or offers you've posted.
• When communicating with a member and determining if a service exchange is likely, be very specific in coordinating the exchange.
• When an exchange is fulfilled, you save a record of it in your hours account.
• Check-in often and review offers and requests from other members

With practice and repeat exchanges, we learn to support a thriving community!