CTC members handbook March 2014
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Transcript of CTC members handbook March 2014
MEMBERS HANDBOOK
2
Contents Who We Are .................................... 3
What our aim is ............................... 4
What’s in it for You? .......................... 5
How We Work .................................. 6
TimeBank ........................................ 8
Where Do We Meet ........................... 10
Safety and Security .......................... 11
What if Something goes Wrong ........... 12
Some Useful Advice .......................... 13
Consideration: ................................. 13
Personal Boundaries: ........................ 13
Time Keeping ................................... 14
Health & Safety ................................ 15
Problem Solving ............................... 15
Confidentiality.................................. 15
Money ........................................... 16
Equal Opportunities ......................... 16
Running a Group ......................... 17
Procedure When YOU NEED Some Help 18
Procedure When YOU are ASKED to
Help another Member ........................ 20
Sign-up Sheet .................................. 22
Sign-in Sheet ................................... 23
3
Bringing people together through the
exchange of their time, skills and knowledge
Who We Are Community TIME Camden (CTC) is a community
time and skills exchange for people living in or oth-
erwise connected to, London Borough of Camden.
It is loosely based on the Timebank model, which is
a market place with time as the principal currency.
CTC provides an opportunity for people to use their
Time, their Skills and their Knowledge to help each
other, to meet new friends and neighbours, to give
and receive practical help & support, and to teach
and learn something new.
We were set up
in 2012 at the
Abbey
Community
Centre, with
funding from
the Big Lottery
Silver Dreams
Fund, to pilot
this new way of
working together in the Kilburn area and with a
view to providing a borough-wide network.
4
What Our Aim is Not so long ago we knew our neighbours, our
friends and family lived nearby, and we helped
each other out as a matter of course. When we
needed a favour we knew who we could ask, and
we would willingly do them a favour in exchange.
Over the years society has changed, and families
and communities have become more isolated.
People still need each other but now often feel
they have no one local to turn to if they need as-
sistance, companionship, or a chance to keep up
their skills and interests.
CTC provides the engine to bring our community
closer together, and reward people for the help
they provide to others in their neighbourhood.
5
What’s in it for You?
There is no money involved at any stage. The
only cost is your time, and for this you will get the
opportunity, among other things, to:
Meet new people and make new friends
Try something new
Use and develop your knowledge, skills and
experiences
Get help when you need it
Contribute when it is convenient – it’s
flexible participation to fit in with your
lifestyle, however busy you are
Feel that you are part of your local
community.
6
How We Work
When you join as a Member of Community TIME
Camden, you provide us with details of the skills,
hobbies, and experiences that you would be
prepared to share with others, and we keep a
record of them. You also tell us what skills and expe-
riences you could benefit from that others can pro-
vide. From time to time, we may call you to ask if
you have the time to help someone else or a group in
need of your skills and experience.
Equally, if you need some help, just contact us with
your request; it’s our job to find someone to help
you. The CTC Coordinator at the Abbey
Community Centre is the central point of contact for
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everyone. We keep track of who does what and
make sure that everyone’s account in the TimeBank is
kept up to date.
This method of sharing skills is flexible; you can help
when you have the time. You decide when you are
available; no specific dates or times are arranged
without your agreement. You can do as much or as
little as you wish. Finally, if you find that you are not
able to use up all your time
credits, you may donate them to another Member or
to a partner organisation.
The more Members we have, the larger our pool of
skills and experience, and the more that people will
be able to share. We believe that everyone has
something to offer, and it
is one of our CTC Coordi-
nator’s most important
jobs to spend time talk-
ing with interested par-
ties, and to find out what
skills, experience and
knowledge they have.
8
TimeBank
The currency for the system is an hour of time,
either contributed by doing something or by
receiving it. We record it in the TimeBank for each
Member, as a credit if you help someone, or as a
debit if someone helps you. Each exchange of help is
called an “assignment”.
To illustrate, if you teach someone how to use their
computer you get credited for each hour of work.
The person receiving your help gets debited for the
same amount of time. There is a special arrange-
ment for all social events, where the person running
the event gets credited for the time, but the at-
tendees are
debited for the same time, but they get credited as
well for the time, as their attendance is regarded as
contributing to the event, so there is no “cost” to
them.
Example:
Bill is retired and lives in a flat, but enjoys
gardening. Bill helps Susan in her garden for two
hours, since Susan cannot manage her garden by
herself now due to poor health. Bill earns two CTC
Time Credits, which he spends on asking Ian to teach
him how to send e-mails and photos to his family in
Australia.
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If you are a new Member, you do not have to earn
time credits (by doing something for another Mem-
ber) before you can spend time credits. You can ask
for help from day 1, even if you don’t yet have any
credits. If you have needs but feel that you’ve got
nothing to offer back, have a chat with the CTC Co-
ordinator – we guarantee we’ll find
something that you can offer!
Examples of groups we currently run:
cooking, crochet, card-making, creative writing,
Saturday club.
Examples of 1-1 exchanges currently taking place:
window cleaning, es-
corting to doctor’s ap-
pointments, IT sup-
port, language ex-
change, piano lessons.
10
Where Do We Meet?
Many of our exchanges and groups take place at the
Abbey Community Centre. Equally, many of our ex-
changes take place in peoples’ homes and in other
venues around Kilburn and beyond.
11
Safety and Security Our project is aimed to help anyone
living, volunteering or working in
the Borough of Camden. This
means that we have a wide range
of Members. Some of these are
very active and independent, but
others are much more isolated and may be
vulnerable. Members’ safety and security is of the
utmost importance to us, and we do all we can to en-
sure this, by the following actions:
· All would-be Members will fill in the Quick sign
up form and have a chat with CTC Coordinator
before 1-1 exchanges are arranged
· DBS checks will be carried out when applicable
· All participants will be issued with an ID card
which they must take to every assignment
· The CTC Coordinator will personally arrange
new exchanges, both from their knowledge and
the needs of the Members concerned
However, we also have to emphasise that these are
not fail-safe security measures, and there is a
certain amount of trust involved in the process. If
you feel unhappy about any aspects of your security
or safety within an assignment or in the project,
please speak to the CTC Coordinator who can discuss
your concerns with you and hopefully put your mind
at rest.
12
What if Something goes Wrong?
This rarely happens!
If you are not happy with the exchange that is being
done for you, please contact the CTC Coordinator as
soon as possible. They will see what can be done to
sort it out. However, it is important to remember
that our Member contributors are just good
neighbours and may not be professionally trained.
For bigger and more complex jobs, it may be
appropriate to sign a Mutual Agreement Form before
commencing the assignment.
So long as the work to be carried out has been
agreed in advance with the CTC Coordinator, it will
be covered by our insurance policy. If you have not
contacted us we may not be able to help.
If anything happens that you are not comfortable
with, do contact the CTC Coordinator immediately.
It could just be that the you are not comfortable
working with the other person in the assignment or
have problems within a group, – that’s OK, we will
help as much as we can. But please bear in mind
your personal safety at all times.
Copies of our policies and procedures are available at
the office or can be sent out to you if requested.
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Some Useful Advice
Consideration:
Please accept other
Members’ viewpoints, and
do not pressure another
Member to accept your
religious beliefs or political views.
Please do not smoke, drink alcohol, or use
recreational drugs at a Member’s home or
at a meeting venue.
Personal Boundaries:
Please respect all Mem-
bers’ personal space
DO:
Be aware of your own personal boundaries
Avoid getting into situations that could be
misinterpreted
Think before you say, “Yes”.
14
DON’T
Get emotionally over-involved with other CTC
Members
Give, borrow from or lend money to other
CTC Members.
If you are ever in doubt about a boundary
issue, please speak to the CTC Coordinator
about it.
Time Keeping
CTC is a time exchange and
every one’s time is valuable.
Please give us as much notice
as possible if you need to can-
cel your arranged assignment.
T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l y
important if you are leading a
group or taking part in 1:1 ex-
changes.
If you should need to cancel, always call the
Centre office on 020 7624 8378. Please leave
your name and the nature and date/time of
the activity that you are not able to attend.
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Health & Safety
P l e a s e t a k e a l l
reasonable practicable steps
to ensure the health, safety,
and welfare of all Members in
the group. Bear in mind your
responsibility for your own health & safety, & do not
carry out tasks that might present a risk to you.
Problem Solving
CTC and Abbey Community
Centre have a policy to deal
w i t h g r i e v a n c e s t h a t
volunteers may have. The poli-
cy states that volunteers have
the right at any time to discuss,
with their named contact, any
concerns that they may have.
Confidentiality
Respect other Members’ privacy and
confidentiality by not sharing any
information obtained about other
Members. Please do not give out any
telephone numbers or addresses of
CTC Members without the ir
permission.
16
Money
Please do not ask for or
accept any money, gifts or
tips from other CTC Members.
All CTC classes and 1:1
exchanges are run on a time
credit basis and there are no
monetary charges.
Equal Opportunities
CTC is run in accordance with the Abbey
Community Centre’s Equal Opportunities policy, a
copy of which can be found in the centre office.
For any question on the rules above, please contact
the CTC team.
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Running a Group When running a group, please ensure the following:
· All attendees are Members of CTC. If they
have not yet joined, please ensure that they
complete a quick Sign-up sheet - this can be
found in the office.
· All attendees complete the Sign-in sheet –
this can be found in the office.
· If you have been using one of the Centre’s
rooms, please let the office know when you
have finished.
· Please leave the room as you found it, and
ready for the next class.
· Please lock the room after you have finished
with it- where applicable.
· Please do not leave the room unattended and
open if there are laptops or other pieces of
equipment in there.
· If any issues or concerns arise during your
session, please contact the office.
· If you have any questions on the rules above
please contact the CTC team.
18
Procedure When YOU NEED Some Help
Please use the following simple procedure when you
need someone to HELP YOU:
Contact the CTC Coordinator by phone, e-mail or in
person.
1. Give details of what kind of help you need
2. Estimate the number of hours’ help you require
(where you can)
3. Give the dates and times when you will be
available (please try to be flexible as this will
provide more opportunities for other Members
to help you)
4. If any costs are likely (for example, material),
you need to reimburse the person
helping you.
5. The CTC Coordinator will get back to you
when they have contacted someone who can
help you.
6. The CTC Coordinator will arrange and attend a
first meeting with you and the Member, if pos-
sible.
7. If this is not possible, you will be given the
name and contact details of your helper, and
told when and where to meet them.
19
8. Similarly, the helper will be given your contact details and any other relevant information.Should
you wish to amend the arrangements for the
assignment, please contact your helper direct, (but
also inform the CTC Coordinator of any changes).
9. Sometimes the CTC Coordinator will ask your
helper to contact you directly to arrange the
date and time of the assignment, where it is
quicker and easier to do so. You will be in
formed when this is appropriate.
10. HOME VISITS. On joining CTC each Member
receives an identity card. You should always ask
to see this before you invite someone into your
home for an assignment. If you have any doubts,
please ask the person to wait outside while you
call the office.
CTC Coordinator might contact you after the exchange
for your feedback.
20
Procedure When YOU are ASKED
to Help another Member
1. Make sure that you are confident in being able
to do what you have been asked carry out.
2. COSTS. Will there be any costs for travel of
materials? The CTC Coordinator will help you
find out how you will be reimbursed,
before you start the assignment.
3. Please do not ask for, or accept, any payment
for the work (other than your expenses).
4. You are responsible for your own health and
safety, so do not take on any task where you
might be at risk.
5. Take your identity card with you on all
assignments.
6. Please keep confidential any information about
or from another Member.
7. It is best not to carry our any additional tasks
that have not been previously agreed.
8. The CTC Coordinator might contact you after
the exchange for your feedback.
21
Thank you for becoming an active Member of
Community TIME Camden. We believe that
this project will make a real difference to our
local community and will bring lots of bene-
fits to all involved!
GOOD LUCK
22
.
23
QUICK SIGN UP FORM
Today’s Date
Title (e.g. Mr/Mrs)
First Name
Family Name
Post Code
Date of Birth
Do you consider yourself to have a disability or long term illness?
Phone number
What is your ethnic group (please tick one box):
It would be useful if you could complete the following information in order that we can occasionally contact you regarding other activities that may be of interest to you.
Home address
Email address
Skills you would like to OFFER
Skills you would like to RECEIVE
How did you hear about CTC?
White Mixed
British White and Black Caribbean
Irish White and Black African
Other White: White and Asian
Asian or Asian British White and Chinese
Indian Other Dual Heritage
Pakistani Black or Black British
Bangladeshi Caribbean
Other Asian Background African
Chinese Other Black
Any other (please write in)
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Socialise ● Energise ● Get Wise
Abbey Community Centre,
222c Belsize Road, Kilburn, London NW6 4DJ
Phone: 020 3397 4583 or 07447 932 564
Email: [email protected]