After a decade of building community and driving social change, the Dane County TimeBank (DCTB) will celebrate its 10th birthday this month.
Established in Madison in 2005, DCTB has quickly grown to be one of the largest and most-respected timebanks in the country, boasting 2,800 members. The Dane County TimeBank invites its members and the broader community to celebrate a decade of promoting neighbor-to-neighbor exchanges and successful community projects with a celebration on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 7-10 p.m. at Art In, 1444 E. Washington Ave.
This family-friendly event will feature an old-fashioned sing-along, led by Andy Rohn, stone soup, storytelling, and an updated version of the old cakewalk. TimeBank members are invited to reach out and invite the first person with whom they ever exchanged services.
The TimeBank legacy is significant, especially in light of its relatively recent founding. Early on it made a concerted effort to include persons with disabilities in its programming. More recent community-building activities have centered on sharing accessible techniques to enhance personal wellness. DCTB also matches volunteer drivers with persons needing transportation to medical appointments.
One of the TimeBank’s most consistent and successful initiatives is its restorative justice youth courts. Designed and led by youth jurors, the youth courts have been in operation since 2006. The TimeBank runs youth courts in all four Madison High Schools as well as in two new community locations. The courts provide an effective vehicle for holding young people accountable for mistakes they have made without the usual police citation process. Thus, they divert young people from entry into the juvenile justice system.
In August, the Madison Police Department announced that it would offer all youth between 12 and 16 years of age a restorative justice option. The TimeBank is teaming up with Dane County Human Services, YWCA, and Briarpatch Youth Services on the initiative. This represents a major systems change for the Madison community as it struggles to find ways to reduce racial inequalities in its social institutions.
For more details about the 10th Birthday Party, visit here. To leave a voicemail message, call 663-0400. Also find us on the TimeBank Facebook page and look for the 10th Birthday Party events page A suggested donation of $10, $100, or $1,000 will help put the TimeBank on a solid footing as it commences its second decade.
