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Crossing the Divide
From the very beginning, community leaders in Washington Heights/Inwood were excited
about the arrival of the TimeBank. However, there was some initial concern about whether
residents from different backgrounds would feel comfortable exchanging with each other.
We know that in a TimeBank, your age, place of origin, religion and income are not barriers
to participation or acceptance, and the TimeBank has been successful in creating an
environment of trust between the members that is exciting and groundbreaking.
The TimeBank exchanges are truly intergenerational. Of the 67% percent of TimeBank member matches
that have greater than a 10-year age differential, 21% have greater than a 30-year age differential.
We are very pleased to report that 86% of the TimeBank exchanges cross income ranges and
23% of those span from the highest range to the lowest range.
Additionally, the VNSNY TimeBank in Washington Heights/Inwood may be the most successful
TimeBank in the world at generating member exchanges across ethnic backgrounds. Sixty-seven of
the exchanges cross ethnic backgrounds.
We are very excited about these accomplishments and are working hard to replicate these
successes in our expansion areas. If you or someone you know living in the Washington Heights/Inwood
or the Lower East Side/Chinatown would benefit from a TimeBank membership, contact us.
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