Merrymeeting Community Shares

Changes With Our Time Banking Network

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:41:03 +0000

MCS has gone through several changes over the last year in its attempt to ground itself in a sustainable method of doing business.

It has shuffled its board to find the right mix of talent and chemistry

It has experimented with various administrative structures

It has re-designed its website

It has used two types of accounting software for its membership transactions

Despite these changes, MCS has seen its participation dwindle mostly due to the lack of volunteers, effective management and few resources to promote its service in the market place. Now that the organization has returned to its conceptual roots, being pruned back to ground level, it is poised to grow again. There is after all, no direction left but up. After re-evaluated its lessons over this period it has come to the conclusion that while MCS sometimes lacks local volunteers to infuse it with vigor, it should, in the very least be affiliated with other time banks in the area to garner support when needed. Luckily it has found such a companion planted in the greater Portland area called HourWorld. HourWorld is a group of like-minded individuals totally dedicated to the TimeBank cause.

As they explain their purpose: “HourWorld exists to welcome and connect all varieties of local exchanges under one roof. This allows interaction between member exchanges everywhere, as their interests and needs arise.” So we have solicited their help to re-vitalize this priceless way of life called “TimeBanking”. Their programs will help with the fundamentals for organizing, building and enriching our time bank. For more information please visit their website at: http://www.hourworld.org

Over the next month their will be more information coming on these recent changes. If you would like to help, please contact us. Send an email to: Will@zellous.org

Brunswick Peace Fair

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:46:56 +0000

The seventh annual Greater Brunswick Peace Fair held on Saturday, August 6th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Brunswick Mall includes:

Local artists, poets and musicians who offer activities that will be fun for the whole family.

Some 30 exhibitors, representing local, state, national and international non-profit organizations working to build a non-violent and compassionate society, will be there to share information and discussion.

Substantive conversations looking at several approaches to creating such a society: building inner peace; speaking out on issues of injustice and imbalance of power – finding constructive ways to engage the media and our elected leaders, and supporting sustainable initiatives that lead toward cooperation and democracy.

The sponsor is Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks. Look forward to a followup article that will include links and other information on the participants.

The Center Stage Players

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:57:58 +0000

The Center Stage Players

The Center Stage Players at The Theater Project, is our newest organizational member!

The Center Stage Players is a readers theater company located at The Theater Project on School Street in Brunswick, Maine. Made up of a lively and talented group of seniors, they write and direct as well as perform their material. They will be offering us a block of tickets for shares as well as benefit performances, and a chance for us to earn shares by ‘postering’ and providing goodies for them to sell at performances.

Hands On Help

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:12:14 +0000

Need help in your garden? Harvesting? Replanting? Consider putting it out there through MCS. Bring your existing service providers into into the MCS membership and enjoy reciprocal benefits.

If you would like to help others or be helped doing some fall clean-up of the outdoor or indoor variety, or putting those gardens to rest, soon is the time to post your wants and offers. Just login to your account and set up an ad or request. Upload a picture to make it more attractive. Get ready for autumn.

Orientation Process

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:09:04 +0000

Get Oriented. The next time and place for any newly registered MCS Pending Members are announced periodically. If there are not enough new members to warrant a group meeting, each new pending member will be contacted by the coordinator individually for a one-on-one meeting or phone interview. Meetings are usually held in the Bath/Brunswick region and are necessary for any pending members. During the meeting we will go over using the online service exchange system (Cyclos), the Membership Agreement & Policies and answer any questions. During the orientation Passwords and Usernames will be given. Pending Members will be initiated into Active Members. From there on after members may login as they wish and request and offer services.

How to Report Exchanges

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:43:25 +0000

In the Cyclos system, members are responsible for reporting and entering our own hours. We report our exchanges by sending an invoice to another member or to MCS.  Go to http//merrymeetingshares.com and log in on the home page.  Under ‘quick access’ click on the icon over ‘make payment’.
This allows you to send an invoice to another member for whom you’ve performed a service in order to get ‘paid’.
To send the invoice, fill in the fields as follows:
Login: Enter your Login Name
Enter the name of the member that should receive the invoice. If you write a part of the name it will be auto-completed. Enter MCS if you performed a service for the organization.
Amount: enter the appropriate number of hours. Continue to enter zeros until you have the whole number you want to enter.
Description: Fill in a description of the service or goods you provided. When the invoice is accepted, this description will show up in the transaction overview.
After completing the form, click “submit” to send the invoice. After submitting you will be asked for a confirmation.
The member will receive an “Incoming Invoice”, and can then pay you by clicking “Accept”.
If the invoice is accepted it will show up as such in your account.
If for some reason the member disagrees and rejects your invoice, you will get a notification of this. You can then:
Check to make sure you have submitted this to your intended member, with the correct time etc.
Contact the member for whom you provided the service and clarify the rejection.
If necessary, contact the Donna, your Coordinator and ask her to mediate the disagreement.

If you are having difficulty with the process, contact Donna at 207-710-0373.

Instructions for Entering Your Listing

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:39:56 +0000

To enter your ‘offer’ and ‘wants’ items into the Cyclos system:
From http:/merrymeetingshares.com
click on the Login link https://us00.digitekst.com/timebanks/do/login?groupId=18&login=true
log in with your user name (all lower case, first initial last name with no space )
enter the new password that was sent to you. (if you haven’t changed it yet, do that now, and write it down!)
on the left see the bars, and click on ‘personal’
this opens new options; click on ‘advertisements’
on the right see ‘my advertisements’
under the box see ‘insert new advertisements submit’
click on ‘submit’
choose type; ‘offer; or ‘wants’
fill in the ‘title’ of your entry
the option ‘price’ is not generally applicable e.g. use it only for such offerings as ‘a jar of honey=2 shares’ , otherwise skip. We know that 1 hour=1 share!
click on ‘not expirable’ if this is one of your ongoing offerings or wants, e.g. ‘offering rides to the jetport’. The expirable option is only for time sensitive items, e.g. ‘I need help with a poster campaign from x date to x date’
in the box write an accurate yet appealing description of your offer/want that encourages people to contact you. Sell your service! That’s why it’s called an advertisement!
click ‘submit’ , and then repeat the process with all of your ‘offers’ and ‘wants’. Be sure to enter multiple listings in each category.

It seems complicated, and yet you’ll see that it’s very simple and straightforward. This is a great opportunity to re-energize your membership! Take some time to explore the website, and discover all of it’s possibilities

Welcome to Merrymeeting Community Shares

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:51:11 +0000

Merrymeeting Community Shares is an hour for an hour service exchange membership organization. For every hour you spend doing something for a member you earn one share. Record it in your account, and you can spend it to buy an hour of another member’s time!

The service exchange system is based on the age-old principles of compassion, mutual responsibility and respect, known as the Core Economy. This system is fundamentally different from a cash economy. When using social currency your capital is never restricted to the numbers on your bank statement. Rather than being completely dependent on the financial fluctuations of your employer, Wall Street, and international business, your wealth is bolstered by the use of your own talents and that of the membership.

In our current economic model we must constantly juggle the use of our time, talent and money. By participating in Merrymeeting Community Shares and reducing one third of that equation, you have time to do more of the things you love. At the same time, you are allowing other members to do for you those things that they enjoy far more than you do. This approach is grounded in the principle of abundance. As expressed by Edgar Cahn, the founder of this system commonly known as ‘time banking’, “We have what we need when we use what we have”.

As a member of Merrymeeting Community Shares you can:

Use and Develop your Talents

Have More Fun

Build a Sustainable Community

Contribute to the Unique Quality of the Merrymeeting Bay Region.

In this area, we are privileged to draw from a population wealthy in innovation, resourcefulness, creativity, skills, talent and wisdom. By exchanging these energies we strengthen ourselves as individuals, families, and communities while we enhance the quality of our lives.