Use your extra 24 hours to #DoSomethingNew

This year is a leap year so on 29 February we all have an extra 24 hours! Carmarthenshire Time Credits are asking all their members to get involved in helping even more people #DoSomethingNew with Time Credits, and to share their experiences. Time Credits members will be trying new experiences, inviting people to earn Time Credits with them and using their Time Credits to take a friend or family member somewhere they have never been before, then sharing on social media. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Spice Time Credits are a time based community currency and have been running in Carmarthenshire since December 2012. Working with Carmarthenshire Council’s Housing Department and Communities First over 800 people have given their time to their local community. Time Credits encourage people to try doing something new. People earn a Time Credit for giving an hour of their time to support others and can spend them on a wide range of activities on an hour for hour basis. Nationally people can spend their Time Credits at 700 venues such as Tower of London, the Millennium Centre or Blackpool Tower. In Carmarthenshire, people can spend at venues including the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Bike Hire at Pembrey Country Park, Ten Pin Bowling at Xcel, Show at Theatrau Sir Gar, Actif Sir Gar, Robert Davies gym and more. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Lots of people start volunteering through Time Credits and well over half Carmarthenshire members are new to giving their time. They meet new people through earning or spending Time Credits – 53% of members surveyed made new friends. And there are other ‘new’ benefits to Time Credits as well – 43% say they’ve found new interests, 46% have learned new skills, and 13% have started a new community group! ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Geina, a Time Credit Member, said: “Spending Time Credits allows us to do things that we couldn’t afford to do as a family of 5. It gives us quality family time together and then we save money to spend on refreshments to make it a really special day out”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Becky Booth, Spice CEO, said: “We think this campaign is a really exciting way to get more of our members thinking about sharing their amazing Time Credits experiences with their friends and family, and encouraging new people to join their local Time Credits scheme so they too can enjoy earning and spending more regularly.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

For more information contact Rachel Gegeshidze, South West Wales Senior Project Manager, rachel@justaddspice.org or 07453 987 648. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​