Time for Change
Time for Change aims to re-define volunteering. We auction our photos in exchange for skill-based community consulting hours for the city of Toronto and Region of Waterloo.
Entering our mid-20′s and fresh on the corporate scene, Ruby and I knew that for our birthdays, we wanted to do something a little different than the typical “go out and party”.
On Dec03/2009, we hosted a part silent photo auction, part community involvement, and part celebration night out. We each exhibited and auctioned 6 photos from our respective summers learning about international development in Botswana and Malawi. However, instead of raising money, we wanted to raise time. So our guests bid on our photos not with money, but with community service hours for local non-profits.
After many weeks of planning, we were finally able to bring our ideas to action. We brought together 12 photos, 4 local initiatives, 56 guests, 517 hours of winning bids and a hopeful ripple effect in the local community. The total number of hours bid by our guests that evening (including the 517 hours that will be matched by myself and the team) amounted to 2246 hours. On a $20/hour wage, these 2246 hours represent over $44,000 in potential social capital should it be realized.
Some of the programs and organizations our winners have been involved with include:
- Yonge Street Mission
- Families and Students Together (F&AST program)
- ACT Pro-bono consulting services
- Well of Change
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