Some people tend to do lots for others and build up a surplus in their account – for more time than they expect to be able to use.

Other people may need lots of help – more than they have time in their personal account to cover – and may have a large deficit on their account. Or someone might need help – for example, if they have just come out of hospital – but feel they are unlikely to be able to match the time they need by providing help to others. This may make them reluctant to ask for the help they need.

Stratford Time Bank’s Community Pot aims to help in these situations. It can pay for help on behalf of a Time Bank member, so they don’t have to worry about asking for help. For example, one Time Bank member regularly visited another member who was partially-sighted to help them deal with their post. The partially-sighted member would have struggled to “earn” time to match this help, so the time was provided from the Community Pot.

The Community Pot is funded in two main ways:

• Individual Time Bank members donate some of their surplus time to the Pot
• Some group activities collect time and contribute it to the Community Pot

Stratford Time Bank’s Community Pot makes sure that help is available to members when it is needed. Feel free to ask about it if you think it could help you.