PORT ANGELES — Residents in Clallam and Jefferson counties can exchange free hours of skilled labor with each other, thanks to a local time bank created by four Jefferson County residents.
A time bank works when a person gives one hour of whatever skill they have.
In return, they receive a one-hour credit they can spend on someone else’s talents, completely free.
To join the time bank, interested individuals can visit sites.google.com/view/olympicpeninsulatimebank.
After they are approved, members are automatically granted two “time credits” that can be turned in for an hour of another member’s skills.
“An hour is equal to an hour is equal to an hour, so everyone’s time is equally valuable,” said Cindy Jayne, who provided advice during the creation of the time bank.
Tradeable skills include almost anything imaginable: gardening, running errands, cooking meals, teaching a new skill, fixing bikes, legal advice, babysitting and more.
“There’s something everybody can do,” said Mark Harris, one of the time bank creators.
Since it launched April 19, the Olympic Peninsula Time Bank (OPT) has gained 37 members who had exchanged 10 hours of skills as of Thursday afternoon.
“It will take a while before it really gets going,” Harris said. “But the more people that join, the better it will be for everybody.”
Although the OPT covers the whole Olympic Peninsula, Harris said the software can filter by more localized locations. Alternatively, the range can be expanded to trade skills with people from any of the 188 hOurWorld time bank locations.
Time banks have been used all across the world, with some of them gaining national recognition for their success, said Jayne, who helped create a time bank in the Bellevue area in 2010.
Although there are hundreds of them across a variety of platforms, each time bank is unique, Harris said.
“What the Olympic Peninsula Time Bank becomes will depend on who joins and who we, whoever joins, decide to do with this time bank,” Harris said. “We could put the emphasis on any way we want.”
The OPT originated with Harris, who first heard of the concept 25 years ago while living in rural California. At that time, the time bank consisted of a file box of 3×5 cards.
When Harris moved to Port Townsend about a year ago, he said he “saw how community-minded people were [and thought] this would be a really good place for a time bank.”
He posted the idea on NextDoor asking for help, and three people jumped on board. They each brought skills to the table that helped to launch the time bank.
“I couldn’t have gotten this far without them,” Harris said.
A time bank exchange was even used in the creation of the OPT. At one point while designing the bank, Harris said his three partners were busy and he didn’t have the computer skills that he needed. So, he jumped on a time bank and traded time in exchange for computer and graphic design skills.
One of the hopes is that the time bank will help connect neighbors and bridge gaps.
“I think this is an excellent way for people to actually meet other people,” without basing relationships off political ideologies, religion, race or other differences, Harris said.
“We just see people as individual, unique characters with all our good and our bad,” he added. “We all have heart.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
