Time Bankers meet at the Time Bank table at the Clearlake Friday Night Farmer's Market. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Members of the Time Bank of Lake County gathered at the Clearlake Farmers' Market on Friday, July 9, where they got to know each other better and learned more about how they could help each other through the Time Bank.

“Time banking is a social movement in 22 countries and six continents,” said Carol Cole-Lewis, one of the co-coordinators of the Time Bank.

“Every hour is worth the same, whether you're providing legal help or doing someone's dishes,” Cole-Lewis explained. “And, for every hour you spend doing something for someone, you earn one Time Dollar in return. Then you have a Time Dollar to spend on having someone do something for you. It's that simple. Yet it also has profound effects. Time Banks change neighborhoods and whole communities.”

Col-Lewis continued, “The Time Bank keeps track of the time used in giving and receiving services. This means the time trades are not one to one – that is, I can get gardening help from Kathy and then give piano lessons to Joe.”

Time Bank members have used the time bank to get and give services like yard work, runs to the dump, houses painted, electrical work done, child care, business brochures made and more.

The Time Bank of Lake County began in January of this year. It is currently at 103 members and performing roughly 25 hours of trade a month. The Time Bank of Lake County is a member of Timebanks USA.

The Time Bank's next meetup will be at the Steele Winery Farmers' Market in Finley on Saturday, July 30, at 10 a.m. Everyone is invited.

To find out more about the Time Bank and to join, visit its Web site at http://timebanklakeco.com.