Warm fuzzy moment...

This past Tuesday I went out flyering for the Archibald Garden Harvest Festival with other time bank members. The fliers had information about the harvest fest on one side and information about the time bank on the other. Matt Tucker and I passed out the first one hundred fliers within forty-five minutes! So we went back to the office to make two hundred more copies. While we were there the new Time Bank phone rang...and it was someone who just received the flier and was interested in becoming a time bank member! It was this great feeling to know that someone had gotten a flier in the past half hour or so and was already calling!

It was my first "warm fuzzy" moment as the time bank VISTA...first of many more to come!


Annie

Montpelier Time Bank!!

On September 18 Amy, Melissa and Annie traveled to Montpelier to attend a city forum on the possibility of a time bank that starting there. The public forum lasted for nearly three hours with great audience participation during the Q & A session. Montpelier's time bank would be set up by the city through a grant they received for their Envision Montpelier (similar to Burlington's Legacy Project).

Also there answering questions was Linda Hogan, the Executive Director of the Portland Time Bank in Portland, Maine. This was an awesome opportunity for everyone there to hear about a time bank that has been up and running for over ten years. The Portland Time Bank has over 700 members who exchanged over 20,000 hours last year! Linda knows the ins and outs to all time bank troubles and invited Burlington Time Banks to attend a training session there at the end of October. To read more about the Portland Time Bank click here.

Annie and Melissa are both hoping to attend this training. Keep checking back to see how you can donate to help send them there!

Grow Team ONE Harvest Fest!

Tomorrow, Wednesday September 26 from 6 to 7 PM the Archibald Neighborhood Garden is going to be giving away free produce and recipes. The Archibald Neighborhood Garden is located near the intersection of Archibald and Walnut Streeets (next to Dot's Market). It is coordinated by Grow Team ONE, a group of ONE Timebank members. So stop by the garden, meet your neighbors, learn how you can be more involved with the garden and pick up some fresh veggies!

Another VISTA!!!

Joey Langworthy A*VISTA
Economic Empowerment and Financial Literacy Coordinator for the Centerfor Communit y and Neighborhoods.

My job is to partner with organizations serving Burlington which seek to
improve the financial literacy of the community. During my term of
service my mission is to help build the capacity of these organizations'
ability to serve more citizens with greater effectiveness. I will be
participating in existing programs and providing fund raising, outreach
and volunteer recruitment support as needed by those organizations.

Some future projects that I am working on are Free Tax Day and Free
Credit Report Day this spring. These service days are being put on by
the C.A.S.H Coalition in Burlington which I will be working with over
the next several months to get the word out about free tax return
assistance as well as other free financial services workshops etc.

I will also be partnering with the Burlington Time Bank to try and get
more people aware of alternative forms of currency which they can use to
meet needs they otherwise couldn't afford.

If you or anybody you know has questions concerning financial planning,
banking, home mortgages, free tax assistance, Earned Income Tax Credit,
etc. please feel free to contact my office and I can help connect you to
a professional who may be able to help. 

Joey Langworthy, AmeriCorps VISTA
Economic Empowerment & Financial Literacy Coordinator
CEDO / Center for Community and Neighborhoods
125 College Street, 2nd Floor
Burlington, Vermont  05401
802-865-7516 (ph)

Hello from the new VISTA!

Hello all!

My name is Annie and I am the new AmeriCorps* VISTA serving at Burlington Time Banks. I moved here three weeks ago from Minnesota (one of those big states in the middle). I grew up in North Dakota and have moved around country since high school graduation. I have lived in Missouri, Wisconsin, Virginia, Washington, Minnesota and now Vermont!

I am really excited to be living in Burlington and to be working with all the volunteers on the Time Bank. Over the next year I want to encourage all of the Time Bank members to increase their activity and also to get their friends to join the Time Bank. Any ideas or suggestions you may have regarding the Time Bank, please don't hesitate to contact me! I look forward to getting to know you all and working with you over the next year.

Peace, Annie.