I have a potential rather un-traditional project to propose for HMWV.

I'd appreciat your time in checking this out!

This past winter I worked for the Burlington TimeBank, a non-profit in

the Old North End, a lower-income neighborhood in Burlington VT, you

may have heard about it from Ashley.  The basic premise of the entire

global network of TimeBanks is to both bring neighborhoods together,

making them safer and more closely knit, and to provide an alternative

income for all of the services that people provide that do not make a

profit in our market economy.  Burlington's chapter is relatively new,

but has certainly begun with a fantastic start.

While I was with them, I created a basic wiki with pbwiki and a

videoblog for them.  The coordinator, Melissa Stiebert, felt that the

website provided by the TimeBank organization (www.timebanks.org)

didn't facilitate the interaction that a wiki or a blog could.  The

wiki, sad to say, didn't catch on, however the videoblog, both with

organizational updates and videos, has already got a decent size

readership (for such a small city).

Why videos?  The idea was to show the people behind the organization,

show the good that the TimeBank is doing, show the small ways in which

people are being helped.  We also wanted to see community members

making videos of their neighborhoods and of the TimeBank in action.

Before leaving, I taught two of the volunteers how to string together

video and get it online but without a camera to use nothing has gotten

up there!

The problem is, as expected with not-real-currency, is money.  The

TimeBank is in the process of obtaining 501-c3 status (they are

already a Vermont state non-profit) which will help them with taxes.

They earn money for copying and office materials through silent

auctions and bake sales still.

They need a camera in order to make the videoblogging happen.  I know

HMWV doesn't usually help raise funds for equipment.  However, as this

is a non-profit that is trying to use a videoblog for story telling

and teach other in the community to use it too, I thought it was worth

a shot.

The blog site is burlingtontimebanks.blogspot.com.  I've messed

around with sort of a promotional video for HMWV.  If that will help

you in understanding this project, I can finish it up by the end of

the week!

Thanks so much for all your work with HMWV... such a great thing!