Author: Long Beach Time Exchange

The Long Beach Time Exchange is a group of volunteers coordinating a community network to facilitate the sharing of time and talents for the common good.

Wishing Our LBTE Community a Joyful Holiday Season!

As we approach the end of the year, we want to take a moment to appreciate the incredible spirit of generosity and connection that makes our time exchange community so special.

Whether you’re sharing a skill, lending a helping hand, or simply being part of our network of neighbors supporting neighbors, you’ve helped make Long Beach a more caring place this year.

During this season of gathering and reflection, we hope you find moments of joy, rest, and meaningful connections with those around you.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our December gathering! We were delighted by the wonderful turnout, especially given the short notice. It was heartwarming to meet face-to-face, enjoy the delicious potluck dishes and the spirit of community that defines LBTE.

Looking ahead: We’re planning another in-person gathering after the holidays – likely in February. Stay tuned for details!

Here’s to continuing to build community together: one hour, one exchange, one connection at a time.

Warmly,
The LBTE Volunteer Team

We’ve upgraded our time banking platform

Login and Join Address

Our new address: https://tnt2.hourworld.org/TNT2/home?oid=1134

  • Use the same email and password as before to log in
  • On your first login, you’ll be asked to accept LBTE’s updated Terms of Use

What’s new

  • Easier navigation with a cleaner, more intuitive layout
  • Better discovery through a new talent/interest matching feature
  • Improved mobile experience for on-the-go access
  • Context-sensitive help available throughout the platform

What you can do

While the following are optional, completing them will greatly improve our collective time banking experience

  1. Refresh Your Profile
  2. Indicate Your Talents & Interests
  3. Explore the New Features
    1. Click the “People” button, and you will see matches to your talents and interests. (The more members who indicate their Talents and Interests, the more useful this feature will become.)
    2. Click the “Ads” button, and you’ll be able to explore offers and requests by category, as well as those that match your interests.
    3. Context-sensitive help, available throughout the platform. Look for the “? Help” button (top right, below your name.)

Learn more

We’ve put together a Membership Handbook that provides detailed instructions for the above plus additional helpful info:

  • Configuring your notification settings
  • Posting Requests and Offers
  • Contacting Other Members
  • Setting Up Exchanges
  • Best Practices
  • FAQ’s
  • And much more…

Upcoming Fix-It Clinics

If you have been eagerly awaiting the return of the repair cafe to assist with repairs or learn how to do your own repairs, check out these upcoming fix-it clinics! https://www.longbeach.gov/lbrecycles/waste-reduction/lb-reuses-coalition/lb-fixit-clinics/

Long Beach Time Exchange is Back!

After being dormant for about 3 years, the Long Beach Time Exchange is active once more! The pandemic limited our ability to conduct exchanges through the time bank. With most ordinances lifted, LBTE members are free to conduct exchanges of time and talent to their own level of comfort and safety. When conducting exchanges, you are encouraged to observe all federal, state, and local COVID-19 guidelines.

The pandemic also limited the time and resources available to keep the time bank running. Volunteer LBTE Coordinators have been working hard to turn the time bank into something that can work without staff or funding. Coordinators are still here to provide support if you should have a question or need assistance. Other than that, the success of the time bank depends on you! Your requests, your offers, and your exchanges are what make the time bank active and strong!

Log in to hOurworld today to refresh your profile, post a request, or post an offer. Click here for a video tutorial. For assistance with hOurworld or for any LBTE questions, contact the volunteer LBTE Coordinator team at lbtimeexchange@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (562) 270-3928.

Karen & Kayleigh
LBTE Coordinators

Repair Resources

The Repair Cafe Website

Loads of Tips and Tricks

  • Repairing coffee makers, furniture, laptops, toys and more…

Starter kit: Repair Café in the classroom

The starter kit Repair Café in the classroom contains all the information you need to organise a lesson (or series of lessons) about repair at a primary school in your community, together with volunteers from your Repair Café. It provides advice on how to conduct a preparatory lesson, a practical lesson in which pupils make their own repairs in the classroom, and an evaluation lesson. It also advises on how to set up a follow-up course at the selected primary school.

Posts and News Articles

More Resources

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2018 Recap, Next Repair Cafe & More!

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This year has been filled with many great gifts and connections! From individual exchanges between neighbors, to over 20 learning groups and Repair Cafes. Together we completed over 200 exchanges, totalling over 500 hours of service as well as repaired 165 broken items! Our group events included 4 cooking classes, a self-defense class for women, a 3 month long yoga class series at Drake Park, 4 Repair Cafes and coordinating the annual People’s State of the City event with our organizational partners. Besides relaying information and sharing our story via social media, we also knocked on over 3,100 doors to let neighbors know about the exciting community events that were happening in their neighborhood!

Our heartfelt gratitude to all who participated, especially the members who gave their time and shared their skills by planning, teaching, and making repairs! We would also like to send a special thank you to our team of leaders, who keep things moving along…we are so grateful for you, Debra Walker, Derald Tucker, Erin Foley, Gloria Colazo, Kathleen O’Daniels, Olivia Marquez and Rondii Colson!

In 2019 we will jump right back into planning even more community time-banking events. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Let us know what you would like to learn or what you would like to teach – or any other exciting visions you may have for our organization.

Because of each and every one of you, LBTE has grown and evolved throughout our 8 year tenure and is able to continue to offer our network of skills, resources, and opportunities to the community going forward. We are grateful for your participation and support and so proud of the work we have done together!

While the LBTE runs on time dollars, the rest of the world hasn’t caught up (yet!) and we are in need of monetary funds to help sustain operating costs for our office and to pay staff. We ask that all members that can consider making their annual membership donation before the end of the year. All donations are tax-deductible. The suggested donation is $30, or $15 for students and seniors – but any amount helps and will be accepted gratefully!

Click here to make your online donation.

To pay by check or money order, please make payable to “Community Partners f.b.o. LBTE” and mail to: PO BOX 40151 Long Beach, CA 90804

Thank you for your support. The Long Beach Time Exchange could not exist without you!

Have a cheerful and safe holiday season!

Sincerely,

Your LBTE Team!

Pop-up Repair Cafe Feb 2019 - Save the Date

 

Repair Cafe Fall 2018 Summary

THANK YOU to all who participated, volunteered, shared their skills and tools, baked delicious brownies (Iris) and attended our last Repair Cafe! And a very important thank you as well to those who saved and brought in their broken items instead of throwing them away! Over 70 broken items were brought in, of those 52 were repaired successfully, and another 13 were repaired to a degree and attendees also received advice from our experts on how to go about ordering parts needed to get their items fixed.

“Victor Santos was a great help, he really went the extra mile to see what the problem was. Unfortunately my Ninja blender was not fixable but my Kuerig still has hope. I hope to have the kill switch part next time when we come back so he can try to fix it again.” Rosa Delarocha

“Bruna repaired 6 of my clothes with holes – Thank you! She even reinforced some vintage clothing so it wouldn’t rip again. This is an awesome event, so helpful – very much appreciated! Nancy Woo

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Get Involved! – Archived

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GET INVOLVED!
Your Long Beach Time Exchange is growing and expanding and we are looking for members who would like to step up to leadership positions and help guide the TE into new and exciting frontiers. If you have always wanted to get more involved with your community, meet your neighbors, and be “in the know” for all things Long Beach, then becoming a Time Exchange Ambassador, Connector, or Educator is for you. See below for a brief description of each committee, then click on the link to apply!
Ambassadors Committee
The mission of the LBTE’s Ambassadors Committee is to increase awareness about interest and membership in the Time Exchange. Ambassadors do outreach by tabling at events, leading presentations, and community outreach. Members will gain a greater understanding of Long Beach’s diverse neighborhoods, community organizations, and events. You will have opportunities to develop your public speaking and community building skills.

We are looking for members who have the ability and desire to:

  • Communicate confidently and mindfully with diverse members of the community.
  • Adapt to different contexts and situations and show the potential time banking offers.
  • Speak from experience about using time banking personally, or through an organization.

Key areas of team’s responsibility:

  • Developing criteria and strategies for outreach.
  • Coordinating and taking part in outreach opportunities (tabling at events, canvassing, presentations to neighborhood groups, organizations, etc.)
  • Contacting other LBTE members who might be interested in helping out and getting involved.

What you’ll gain:

  • Learning more about Long Beach geography, residents, community organizations, and groups.
  • Developing and practicing public-speaking skills
  • The satisfaction of making a tangible impact by expanding the time-banking movement in Long Beach

Time commitment: 4-8 hours per month spent representing LBTE at community events and meetings, or conducting outreach one-on-one’s.  Terms are 1 year with possible renewal.

To apply, click here to view and fill out the application.

Community Connectors Committee
While Ambassadors bring in new members, the mission of the Community Connectors is to help increase exchanges between existing members. Our recent Dare to Share campaign was born in this committee. Connectors brainstorm ways to make it easier for members to connect, share and exchange, as well as welcome new members. You will gain a greater understanding of time-banking along with the satisfaction of helping members connect with one another.

We are looking for members who love to help others connect, and:

  • Are good listeners
  • Have the ability to communicate confidently and mindfully with diverse members of the community
  • Are ONE (or more) of the following:
    • Tech savvy; OR
    • Great face-to-face communicators; OR
    • Skilled on-the-phone communicators; OR
    • Have strong writing and editing skills

Key areas of team’s responsibility:

  • Developing strategies for connecting members to one another, including helping members with:
    • Posting and searching for offers and requests in hOurworld
    • Finding matches in the network
    • Navigating operating system so offers/requests are posted and current
    • Providing orientation to new members
    • Helping offline members stay active and informed

What you’ll gain:

  • A good sense of the assets and needs in the community
  • The satisfaction of making helpful matches for members who might not have been able to connect otherwise.

Time commitment: 4-8 hours per month spent helping members connect to one another, making phone calls and helping to welcome new members. Terms are 1 year with possible renewal.
To apply, click here to view and fill out the application.

Learning Committee
The Learning Committee is responsible for planning and launching workshops and events for members and the community. Committee members create multi-cultural spaces/events where learning, connectivity and sharing can take place; cooking classes, wellness, art, and small community potlucks are a few examples of the events this committee would lead. You will gain event planning experience and the satisfaction of helping others bring their gifts to a wider audience.

We are looking for members who have the ability or desire to:

  • Bring people together to learn about various topics
  • Create multi-cultural spaces/events where learning, connectivity and sharing can take place
  • Have experience in writing press releases and/or social media
  • Event planning/logistics experience

Key areas of team’s responsibility:

  • Planning and coordinating groups exchanges, community/learning events and LBTE quarterly gatherings
  • Identifying topics for workshops/learning events
  • Finding individuals to teach workshops and volunteers

What you’ll gain:

  • Event planning experience
  • The satisfaction of creating a learning space and seeing what connections are made there and beyond, including your own.

Time commitment: 4-8 hours per month spent representing LBTE at community events and meetings, or conducting outreach one-on-one’s.  Terms are 1 year with possible renewal.

To apply, click here to view and fill out the application.

Be a part in growing the time exchange! Become an Ambassador, Connector or Educator and share your voice, your vision, and your energy with our community!
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact one of our volunteer coordinators:
lbtimeexchange@gmail.com
(562) 270-3928

Testimonials

Share your Time Exchange Story / Comparti la Historia sobre tu Intercambio

Testimonial Form

Repair Cafe Results!

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  • Great collaborations with the LB Main Public Library, The Studio MakerSpace and Squeeze Art Collective!
  • Total of 63 repairs were worked on!
  • 13 volunteer experts/repairers plus 7 general volunteers, and 3 library staff!
  • Total volunteer hours: 88.75!