Photos courtesy of Christine Petit.
Four years ago, Christine Petit and her partner Tony Damico had a vision: people helping people in Long Beach with time acting as currency.
That idea came to fruition when Petit and Damico founded the Long Beach Time Exchange following successful salon-style events that focused on the experience of gift cultures, prompting them to take on their own gift culture-style events such as providing free cooking classes [pictured left].
“We just really brought [the Time Exchange] to the community to see if there was interest there and people were definitely very curious about it,” Petit said. “There are also a lot of people and groups in Long Beach that are interested in resource sharing. There are so many networks of people who are sharing and connecting in different ways. There’s a lot of recognition that we have an abundance of knowledge and things in Long Beach.”
Since its inception, the Long Beach Time Exchange has attracted more than 730 members. The only requirements of members is that they have to live in, work in or go to school in Long Beach. Each of these members brings a different set of skills and cultural backgrounds, which is precisely what helps the Time Exchange succeed.
“In order for something like this to be successful, it needs to reflect the diversity in the city it’s in,” Petit said. “We thought Long Beach would make such a dynamic time exchange because it is so diverse with so many people from different backgrounds with different experiences and skills. You don’t want everyone in the time bank to be the same or have the same sorts of skills. You need that diversity to make it really rich.”
Members earn credits by participating in events and helping out other members. They can also participate in two types of exchanges: those between individuals and group learning events. The tasks can be something as simple as walking someone else’s dog or they can be more challenging such as volunteering an entirety of one’s time for a day.
Petit recalled an active member needing legal documentation help and a fellow member with legal experience reached out.
“This person had very limited resources but gives a lot of time to the community,” Petit said. “It was just awesome to see her be able to get help back in that way. She was able to save about $300, and it only cost her two or three time credits.”
Members have also exchanged services like helping each other clean their residences, gardening, acupuncture and plumbing.
Micky Salatino, membership coordinator for the Time Exchange, said one of her favorite things about the organization is the people she gets to meet, particularly during the learning group meetings.
“These learning groups are a good way to get people to meet one another because a lot of the times we tend not to do stuff outside of our own circles,” she said. “These types of events really bring in that diverse community to learn together, and it’s really beautiful.”
The organization’s four year anniversary will showcase skills and services like herbal bath bags, composting with worms, recycled art, tarot card readings, singing/toning exercises and belly dancing. It will also include performances by Long Beach musicians Romero Y Perez and The Natives.
Those who bring a dish to this pot luck event will, as the tradition goes, be able to earn time credits.
The Long Beach Time Exchange will celebrate its fourth anniversary at a free party open to the public on September 28 at MAYE Center at 2153 E Anaheim St. from 2PM to 4:30PM. For more information about the Long Beach Time Exchange and to join the cause, visit click here.