The innovative scheme for residents to trade their skills and knowledge has expanded to Charnwood.
Time4Leicestershire is a free skills exchange initiative from Leicestershire County Council, where members can sign up to share their skills and knowledge and support others and can request skills they would like to learn in return.
‘Timebanking’ differs from volunteering as it allows people to swap skills at a time that suits them, with no minimum commitment needed. For every hour of time somebody gives, they receive an hour’s time credit to bank and give to another Timebank member in exchange for supporting them with another skill.
Exchanged skills can be anything from gardening, knitting to video editing and coding. People do not necessarily have to meet in person to benefit from the scheme either; they can also help each other online. A skill that one person takes for granted may be invaluable when passed on to someone else.
Already available for residents in Melton, the County Council’s Public Health team offer the programme as part of the national Timebanking UK initiative, and residents are being encouraged to sign up to Time4Leicestershire to exchange skills.
As well as benefitting local communities and building a greater community spirit, it can also reduce loneliness and isolation, help people to learn new skills, increasing physical activity and improving emotional wellbeing.
The Charnwood scheme was officially launched at Fearon Hall in Loughborough, with local residents joining together to share their skills and showcase what can be offered through the programme.
Timebanking is being rolled out across the county and will be available in all districts across Leicestershire in the future.
Community spirit is such an important part of a thriving county, and it’s great to see our timebanking scheme growing into Charnwood.
I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for people to both share their skills and benefit from others. It’s a brilliant initiative and I encourage residents in both Charnwood and Melton to sign up and give it a go.
Councillor Louise Richardson, cabinet member for health and wellbeing
To find out more about the Time4Leicestershire timebank, and to get involved, visit: To find out more about the Time4Leicestershire timebank, and to get involved, visit the website.