With John Keys announcing a $152 million package to create new work, education and training opportunities for unemployed young people we’re feeling even more confident that our vision around helping the youngest working age generation transition into work will find support on many levels. Well, we hope that it does but at the very least we’re reassured to learn that our mission aligns with the concern of our current Prime Minister who said yesterday:-
I am concerned for our young people.Those aged 18-24 are the fastest growing age group on the Unemployment Benefit, representing a third of all those who receive it.
The number of young people who wanted a job but couldn’t get one has more than quadrupled in the past year, leaping from less than 4000 in June 2008 to nearly 17,000 by June this year.
My concern is that for a young person starting out in their working life, a long period of unemployment could be very damaging. Source
Quid Pro Quo: Using Time Trade to Encourage Young People to Volunteer
When we looked at solving problems relating to work it was quickly evident that young people are the demographic most in need of solutions. So we got together to identify ways we could help them transition from study to work.
Lacking the work experience needed to gain value from our contractors’ marketplace we focused instead on ways that we could help them build the necessary work expereince, skills and references.
By incorporating unpaid work into our formula and encourage volunteering through the concept of Time Trade, we identified ways to:-
1) provide a measure of value and recognition for the development of a peer mentoring scheme, using time credits.
Enlisting alumni to mentor upcoming graduates about work life and career paths. Those graduates, in turn, trade their time to perhaps tutor fellow students who in turn again volunteer in their community and build valuable work skills.
2) provide incentive and reward to encourage more young people to volunteer, using time credits.
We believe volunteer work develops a service orientated work ethic and skills that assist the study to work transition. Some of the skills we know volunteers can develop include:-
Leadership & team building skills
Relationship building skills
Communication skills
Negotiation skills
Creative thinking skills
Organisation & time management skills
As Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett points out encouraging Gen Y to become involved in our communities creates win-win situations. Her comments about the Community Max Scheme could as easily apply to Worknow:-
“This is all about providing opportunities – we see this as a very positive approach to addressing youth unemployment while helping fund useful community projects… I believe this is a win-win situation.”
Where we differ is that we intend the growth of youth volunteers to be a permanent fixture of tomorrows communities hence the development of out Time Trade platform.
If asked “what did you want to be when you were a kid?”, I know the answer is – to help people. While I’m not alone in aspiring to help others am I just trying to compensate for my failings? or feel better about myself? Am I really just trying to help myself?
With time trade one’s own motivation to help others comes second. It’s about putting the needs of others before yourself by focusing less on the need to be needed – who can I help?, how can I help? – and more on outcomes that can only be secured by enlisting the time and talents of those we are trying to help – how can this persons talents, skills and time help others?
“…If we want to fulfill our own commitments to make a difference in the lives of others, we need to find a way to use our ability to unleash the capacity of the person we are helping…” Edgar Cahn
People are Assets
Every single person is gifted with talents that are of value in a Time Trade community.
“…it recognises the whole person, that your life experiences, your knowledge, is an asset – everything you are, what you know and what you don’t is valuable…”
For organisations with networks of people that they already help there’s the potential to vastly expand the work accomplished by employing the time and talents of the people they help. This in turn empowers the recipients and moves them away from dependence and potential helplessness towards a sense of contributing value to one’s own community.
For example enlisting university alumni to mentor upcoming graduates about work life and career paths and those graduates, in turn, tutoring fellow students who in turn help volunteer in their community, and build valuable work skills.
“…We have to find news ways, or very old ways, of putting people to use doing things for each other…finding ways for people who don’t think they have skills to discover their own strengths…” Edgar Cahn
Time Trade is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community.
In recognition for your contribution you receive one Time Credit which you can then gift or trade, with other members of the community, in exchange for their talent and time. It’s a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
Here at Worknow we are building an online system to automate the transfer of time credits between Community Members. Our Time Trade system comes online August 2009 please register your interest today.
One of the most valuable life lessons learned while building this company is that “…money does not define the limits of what is possible…”
I would not be here today if I’d let a complete lack of funds prevent me from pursuing our vision of this new venture. Or if I feared the stigma of being “unemployed”. By choosing to build my future using the only resources that are truly mine – my time and talents – in collaboration with others, I’ve discovered the freedom to follow my dreams and trust my intuitions. While I may be poor in terms of money I’m undeniably blessed and rich in the things that money can not buy; love, happiness, hope…
Our company, Jamie Josh and I, are living proof of what can be accomplished when people are willing to invest time and talent in lieu of earnings. We hope time trade and the use of time credits will help us all to redefine the value of work to include some of the values that define us as humans; our capacity to love and care for other people, animals and our environment. To share knowledge, collaborate and stand up for the things we believe in.
Every time we reward an act of helping with a time credit, we are declaring that the monetary economy does not have the power to define what real work is, that market price is not the only measure of value and that money does not define the limits of what is possible. Edgar Khan in The Time of Our Lives
I’m inspired by thought leaders like Edgar Cahn because here at Worknow we break from the definition of work as either “employed or unemployed” choosing instead the role of aspiring, social entrepreneur and incorporating the idea of time trade – into a company built to help people find and connect with work – so as to give equal value to both volunteer and paid work opportunities.
We hope that our intention will become more evident when we launch the beta site because Jamie’s created some funky elements, in the navigation and site design, to allow people to easily switch and identify between time trade and paid work options. They are after all two sides of the same coin because as my father used to say “…there’s more than one way to skin a rabbit…”
Time Trade aka Time Banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community.
In recognition for your contribution you receive one Time Credit which you can then gift or trade, with other members of the community, in exchange for their talent and time. It’s a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
Here at Worknow we are building an online system to automate the transfer of time credits between Community Members. Our Time Trade system comes online August 2009. For more information check out these links:-
The abstract we submitted for a workshop at this years Volunteering NZ conference has been accepted.
Volunteering Unleashed – New times bring new approaches is the title of biennial New Zealand National Volunteering Conference. The conference, organised by Volunteering New Zealand, will take place 28 – 29 October 2009 in Wellington Town Hall. For more information on this years conference check out the Volunteering New Zealand Website
The abstract aligns with the one of two conference themes:
Volunteering Tomorrow: New Opportunities – new ways for volunteering
And will incorporate concepts on:-
* Generational diversity
* Volunteering in community development
* New and interesting ways of doing volunteering
It goes something (exactly) like this…
Using networking technology to connect with Gen Y volunteers
It irks me that people and media feel justified in deriding our generation. Almost daily I read about how lazy, fickle, disloyal and demanding generation Y is yet so rarely is voice given to the truth that we Gen Y have different attitudes, and workplace expectations to the existing generations.
It seems, my entire generation now has a point to prove and the best way I can see to do that is to overcome the negativity, choose lifestyle and community over career, step around the square box and do exactly what we are disliked for. Be different, challenge the status quo and find better, new ways to get work done. Perhaps these traits which appear as weaknesses may indeed be indicators of our strengths.
Disloyal vs Adaptive
Lazy vs Lifestyle
Demanding vs Achievement orientated
Long hours vs Get the job done
Employee vs Entrepreneur
Love us or hate us 10 years from now we will represent almost 40% of the New Zealand workforce. Our entrepreneurial spirit makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks, our education has armed us with knowledge and insight and today’s technology allows us to connect, share and work together in new, more effective ways.
Volunteering allows us to help others while building valuable work skills that will help us transition from study to work life. All we need do is connect with these volunteer opportunities and by connect we mean, online.
Worknow Bio
Aspiring to build a world class business that helps people and effects change Joshua, Jamie & Renee are a passionate, talented, new venture team with over 14 years combined experience in online development and marketing.
As veterans of web 2.0 and the social networking movement they believe social networking technology can help foster and harness the collective potential of existing communities and help people find, connect and work together.
Today they are here to discuss what it means to be Gen Y in today’s workforce and how volunteering can support young people in the transition from study to work.
The concept of Time Trade is a social change movement active in 22 countries and across six continents.
It began in the 1980’s ,invented by Edgar Cahn, a former legal advisor to Robert Kennedy, as a way to make up for the cutback of social services. While each time bank may state a different focus the system of trade is facilitated in order to help communities meet unmet needs with untapped resources.
“…To develop a sustainable community centered and supported network that will utilise available and untapped assets through a complimentary economy. Our ultimate goal is to help to bring about meaningful social change for the betterment of humanity…”
The following examples are the mission statements of various time banks as listed in the international Time Bank Community Directory
Time Trade is about Helping Others
Bringing People Together to Help Each Other
To provide access to services and high quality volunteer opportunities by serving our community with passion and commitment.
To support and expand our volunteer programs
Time Trade is about strengthening communities
To build a stronger, more unified community which supports, includes and honors persons of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
Building a stronger community one hour at a time.
To strengthen friendships, families, neighborhoods and communities.
Time Trade is about connecting communities
Working together as a sustainable community of families to nurture quality time, talent and fun
To nurture, inspire, and motivate the building of a network of neighbors to come together to create a sharing and caring community.
To connect diverse neighborhoods, service organizations, food producers, businesses, and individuals in ways that promote resource exchange, cooperation, and community-building while increasing access to local services and goods.
Time Trade encompasses both broad and specific goals
To help mobilize social capital to fight poverty and build community in Lewis County.
To meet unmet needs of home schoolers with untapped resources.
To assist the senior and youth population in relationship building and tapping into valuable resources
Time Trade is about Respect Recognition and Empowering People
To invite all people in the community to join in a supportive, reciprocal network where all members are respected and valued for their time and talents, through the sharing of our needs and gifts.
To Empower the Disenfranchised and to do this with Compassion!
Time Trade is about awareness of alternatives
To experiment with innovative approaches to social welfare
By facilitating the exchange of services we redefine how people interact with each other
A network of members sharing their time and skills without the need for money.
Time Trade is about resilience
Helping our beautiful small community become closer and more self reliant.
Strengthening local economy in this time of hardship.
Inform the community of resources that will enable the community to become more knowledgeable through the circle of life, resulting in people always needing people.
We facilitate Time Trade as a means of recognition for the work contributed by volunteers in our community.
We hope to encourage more young people to volunteer because we believe volunteer work develops a service orientated work ethic and skills that assist the study to work transition. Some of the skills volunteers can develop include:-
Leadership & team building skills
Relationship building skills
Communication skills
Negotiation skills
Creative thinking skills
Organisation & time management skills
If you know a cause that could benefit from additional volunteer support or wish to volunteer your time and talent please contact us
Migration needed to care for ageing population. Source
Are we today so separated from our neighbors, so divorced from our communities that we must employ workers from other countries to take care of our own?
Has it really come to this? Are we simply to busy to care or is there not enough time to go around? Not exactly…
Community organisations like Age Concern do brilliant work in our communities, throughout New Zealand. So if you find the thought of our elderly people, alone and lonely; a sad, disturbing insight into your community – you can make a difference.
Volunteers & Time Trade
From delivering Meals on Wheels to in home visits or even just a friendly phone call. It really is this simple to make a positive difference to someones day. Do you have the time to help others? to make a difference and help build happier communities?
Yes! it seems that we do. Statistics New Zealand shows that kiwis contribute 270 million hours of formal, unpaid work for non-profit organisations annually.
270 million hours! Imagine then if we could take this time and use it as a trading currency to get people to support our older people. Actually, no need to imagine, we can.
Time Trade is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community.
In recognition for your contribution you receive one Time Credit which you can then gift or trade, with other members of the community, in exchange for their talent and time. It’s a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
Here at Worknow we are building online system to automate the transfer of time credits between Community Members.
What will you volunteer your time for when you can earn and exchange it for the time and talent of others?
Social innovation refers to new strategies, concepts and organisations that meet social needs which in our case, influenced by economic recession, means the need to support communities and help people find work.
Although there are already volunteer networks, community and business groups that contribute tirelessly to this need, we believe social networking technology can help foster and harness the collective potential of existing communities and distributed groups by providing a way for people to easily find, connect and work with each other.
Time Trading a.k.a Time Banking
Time Trading a.k.a Time Banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. In recognition for your contribution you receive one Time Credit which you can then gift or trade, with other members of the community, in exchange for their talent and time. It’s a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
When times get tough, our most important asset is a resilient and supportive community. More secure than money in the bank, and more long-lasting than storing food and water; creating a more self sufficient community is the smartest investment we can make now… they strengthen the community by creating an incentive and market for people to help each other. Source
Worknow
We are building a user friendly, online solution to help people find, connect and work together, in new ways. One of the first services available incorporates the concept of Time Trading via the provision of an online system to automate the transfer of time credits between Community Members.
Queenstown NZ Winter Festival is two weeks of non-stop winter action and events held over a variety of different Queenstown locations. It is also the setting for a rather inspiring volunteer story that my friend T told last night.
Work Ethic
T’s an English lad and on his first tour of Aotearoa he arrived in Queenstown right in time for Winter Festival. Being ex army he’s got a strong work ethic which makes him a motivated (& motivating) person so rather than just watch the next two weeks unfold he went to the winter festival organising group and volunteered to work with the festival crew.
“What do you want to do?”.
“Everything”.
Upon which they set him to work alongside project contractors who were being paid to do exactly the same job.
Volunteer Work Pays Off
What ensued was plenty of hard work in sub-zero temperatures setting up and dismantling events. But with the work came free backstage passes, quality winter clothing and copious amounts of fun of the type young traveler’s pay to experience while in Queenstown.
After two weeks weeks of what he describes as the closest thing to “…a rock star lifestyle…” he’s ever experienced the blur of work-party-work came to an end and to his surprise the Project Manager came to him, said “For your hard work mate”, and handed him a cash cheque for over $1000 dollars. Proving that it really can pay to volunteer.
Find Volunteer Work
We encourage any volunteer workers and community organisations to join Worknow to help connect willing volunteers with volunteer work opportunities.
I volunteered as a gymnastics instructor when I was 19. After deciding not to return to law school and once the summer was over I quickly found myself on a limiting budget and at a loss for things to do.
So when I saw a job for a Gymnastic Instructor with the YMCA it was simply too ideal to pass up. I had been a good gymnast during my formative years, I liked kids and they usually liked me, any work would get me off the couch and at least I would feel like I was contributing to society. So I wrote my cover letter and to help secure myself the role I decided to volunteer my time.
Volunteering a Win-Win Opportunity
My offer to volunteer turned out to be a win-win situation.
For a community based organisation a volunteer for the role was an added bonus so they took me up on my offer and I became a gymnastics coach. In return they offered me paid hours helping in others parts of the business like the after school programme, school holiday programme and youth work.
Volunteer to Gain Skills & Work Experience
Volunteering was a fun experience and I loved the high energy of working with kids.
But more than that it gave me the chance to take a leadership role, work closely with a range of people and it highlighted my willingness to work which I credit with helping me, six months later, secure my first “real” job.
Finding Volunteer Opportunities
As my experience shows, a stint as a volunteer can have a very positive impact on your work prospects.
I was fortunate to find a job in the newspaper which, in my desperation, I was happy to volunteer for. I would recommend others’ to do the same. But where too look? Newspapers, you local Volunteer Organisation, via schools and now you can find volunteer work here online.
Promote Volunteer Opportunities to People Searching Online
Google Keyword Tool indicates that there are more than 3000 searches each month in New Zealand for “volunteer work”.
That’s a fair number of people looking online to find volunteer work opportunities. At Worknow we know there’s plenty of people out there ready and willing to volunteer they just need more ways to connect with these opportunities.
