Our five core values are:PEOPLE ARE ASSETSThe real wealth of our society is its people. We believe that every person is valuable and has something to offer other people in the community.REDEFINING WORKTime banks are helping to redefine “work” to include raising healthy children, preserving families, making neighbourhoods safe and vibrant, caring for the frail and vulnerable, and tackling injustice.RECIPROCITYWe believe the impulse to give something back is universal. Timebanking enables people to be givers as well as takers. At a time bank, “you need me” becomes “we need each other”.SOCIAL CAPITALTimebanking builds mutual social and practical support networks in communities, strengthening social capital and encouraging collaboration between community organisations and public services.RESPECTTime banks give people respect and recognise the value of everyone’s contribution by giving them the benefit of someone else’s time in return.Our economic system gives people the freedom to buy and sell goods and services. But, because interaction is so closely tied to financial exchanges, people soon feel excluded if they don’t have much money. If you’re not employed or don’t earn much, or if you’re housebound or suffer from chronic illness, you may soon begin to lose your sense of self-worth because so much of our personal identity depends upon what we ‘produce’ in monetary terms.Timebanking also provides an equal platform for access. It allows people to access resources that might otherwise be beyond their economic means, such as training or help with housework.Reciprocity and equality are enshrined in timebanking exchanges through the principle of ‘an hour for an hour’. Because everyone’s hour counts for the same, timebanking can enable even the most marginalised and isolated people to realise a sense of self-worth and belonging, making society less fractured and more cohesive.The father of modern timebanking, Edgar Cahn, says timebanking exchanges “link people in a social network; each act of caring triggers a reciprocal act so that every transaction has social capital built in”Timebanking builds networks of people who give and receive support, enabling people from different backgrounds who may not otherwise meet to form meaningful connections and friendships. Generating social capital in this way can enhance health, wellbeing and resilience, all of which can prevent additional needs arising, saving precious resources as well as contributing to a foundation of co-production that transcends our standard economic dealings.