Silver Spring TimeBank Participates in a Fundraising Flea Market!
/By Madeline Caliendo
They say it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to successfully participate in a quick-turn-around fundraising event like a Flea Market! The Silver Spring Time Bank (SSTB) did just that on Saturday, May 17, 2025, when we participated in a Flea Market hosted by the Washington Ukrainian Humanitarian Center at St. Andrew's Church, 15100 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD.
In total twenty-two (22) SSTB members rallied together on short notice to make the event a HUGE success. SSTB members donated goods to sell, helped transport goods from donors to the sales table, helped set up the selling area, sold goods to passing patrons, spoke about SSTB to passersby, took photos to document the event, packed up leftover items for SSTB to donate to charity after the sale, and helped with a myriad of the other tasks that go into making an event like this a success! As noted, twenty-two (22) timebank members offered their time and/or donated belongings to help with this fundraiser. Each earned timebank hours which they can now use for services from other members.
You may ask yourself WHY does a Timebank whose members exchange hours (not dollars) need to raise money? That's a good question and the answer is easy. It is to pay for administrative costs like the website and the like that cannot be secured via an exchange.
In addition to raising enough money to pay the bills that needed to be paid, the SSTB Flea Market was successful in that it connected our organization to a whole new community of potential members who otherwise knew nothing about Timebanking and who showed interest in joining SSTB! Participating in the event also connected SSTB with a local charity called “Bare Necessities Foundation.” We donated a few unsold items to them and hope to do more with them in the future. They are also joining the timebank as an organizational member! https://www.barenecessitiesfoundation.org/
Again, THANK YOU to all who participated, and a special thanks to Laura Kranis who spearheaded the effort!
