A surprising way to make yourself feel good
What are your resolutions for 2015? Less food, caffeine, "screen-time".... more exercise?
Reverse Advent Challenge - one Streetie's experience
Richard from Camden describes his experience of taking the Reverse Advent Challenge
I have a reputation for being something of a Christmas "Grinch". While most people are getting excited as Christmas approaches, I find myself increasingly wound up into a froth of environmental and anti-consumerist angst.
Give-a-thing-away-a-day: my advent challenge
In September, I went to a film screening at the Hackney Picturehouse of My Stuff, a film about Petri Luukkainen, a 26-year old man from Finland that decides to put all of his stuff in storage and only take one item back per day, for a year. Going through an existential crisis at the point of making this decision, Luukkainen hoped that he might be able to rebuild his life through this human experiment.
But how does Streetbank make money?!
One of the first things people ask about Streetbank is “how do you make money?” It’s an excellent question
Let the numbers do the talking?
We’ve been busy gathering stories over the past four years – like the one about Bob from Tonbridge who through Streebank struck a firm friendship with his elderly neighbour, Jill after sorting her garden and setting up her laptop or Richard from Oxfordshire who has used Streetbank to build his confidence and tackle his mental health issues.
But sometimes we find that people are dismissive of stories. They want numbers.
The Big Lunch just got bigger: FREE training for volunteers at the Eden Project
The Big Lunch is the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours, an idea from the Eden Project made possible by The Big Lottery Fund. The perfect recipe for having fun with your neighbours, The Big Lunch is a very simple idea that calls on communities to host their own Big Lunch events – this year on Sunday June 7th 2015.
One man’s skill – another’s pleasure?
Last weekend I helped my Streetbank neighbour to bring a bit more order to her flat. We did some cleaning but mostly organising; chucking things out, finding homes for things, categorising books and files and so on.
Anna Walsh from Leicester describes kick-starting Streetbank in her neighbourhood
Belgrave is a neighbourhood to the north of Leicester city centre, and where I live and work. It’s known for the ‘Golden Mile’ of Indian restaurants, sari and jewellery shops – and for its events and celebrations.
Not sure what to share? Get some Inspiration!
It’s easy to appreciate the logic of joining a platform like Streetbank where neighbours generously share things and skills with each other (and help build a stronger community in the process!).
Streetbank meet-up anyone?
This year, we started to see Streetbank members taking to the streets and organising get-togethers in all different guises with neighbours. Group cycles, seed planting, street parties and meet-ups in pubs and cafes.
How to grow Streetbank anywhere in the world
Since July this year, over 15,000 new members have joined the Streetbank movement across the Arab world – following a Streetbank feature on Ahmad Alshugairi’s programme Khawa6er.
It’s been hugely exciting for us in the Streetbank office in London to watch things growing internationally and to be forging links with people in cities such as Cairo, Dubai and Amman…
In Cairo, Rana and Karim are championing Streetbank and there are now over 900 people sharing across the city and hundreds more across Egypt.
Technical problems - September 22nd
Over the last couple of days Streetbank has been suffering from a bug. It means that some emails have been delayed and some posts aren’t appearing in your neighbourhood news feed. We are working on the problem and everything should be fixed soon.
A proud day for Streetbank…and for social innovation. Meet the New Radicals
For the third year running, the UK’s innovation foundation Nesta has joined forces with The Observer to compile a list of the fifty people and organisations changing society for the better. It goes without saying that we are absolutely delighted to be amongst the social entrepreneurs and innovators identified by Nesta and The Observer as this year’s 50 New Radicals.
Live in London? Fancy a freebie?
As the summer comes to an end and many of us prepare for back to work or school, now’s the time to get rid of the stuff you no longer need….and pick up something you do. All for free at one of our upcoming Give and Take events in partnership with Camden Council.
Three top ways to help you become a Zero Hero
This year, the theme of Zero Waste Week (1-7 September) is ‘One More Thing’, an opportunity to ask ourselves what one thing we could do to cut our waste and make a big difference. So what could you commit to doing for zero waste week? We’ve put together three ideas to help you become a zero hero:
Hello Cairo, Jeddah, Amman, Riyadh, Dubai and Casablanca!
Welcome to all those who have joined in response to Ahmad Alshugairi’s programme Khawa6er!
In less than 48hours more than 7,100 Streetbank members have joined us and already, many of you are sharing things with your neighbours – things like DVDs, books and camping equipment - and discovering just how generous your neighbours can be.
Top Three Reasons to Fill Your House For Free with Streetbank
Tonight, Streetbank is appearing on Channel 4's second series of Fill Your House For Free with Kirstie Allsopp – what better excuse could there be than that to select our top three reasons to fill your house for free with Streetbank?!
A meet-up of minds: Streetbank get-together in Russell Square
This Monday night was a first for us. We invited Streetbank members from across London to join us in the middle of Russell Square – come rain or shine – for a meet-up. It was a chance for us to say thank you to some of our members, because without you and your neighbours, Streetbank is just a website. It’s the 41,124 people sharing 51,723 things that makes it special.
Make money from your car when you're not driving!
Last week I signed up my Little Red Polo to a great new service called easyCar Club so that my neighbours can rent my car. On Saturday morning I had my first taker. Samantha needed it over the weekend and had asked whether she could bring her spaniel. She put down a rug and give it a quick hoover afterwards.
Sharing’s as Easy as Pie in Tower Hamlets, Brighton and Islington!
The welcoming residents of The Robin Hood Garden’s Social Housing Estate came together in Poplar, Tower Hamlets on Saturday 17th May 2014 to enjoy a free Streetie-Pie party thanks to our friends at Higgidy. This was the first of five competition-winning parties taking place this summer, followed soon after by equally fantastic events in Brighton and Islington.
Do you want to join the Streetbank team?
Would you like the challenge of helping to scale Streetbank - a pioneering website that helps people to connect with their neighbourhood and save money, and which is good for the environment?
We’re currently recruiting for a Communities Coordinator Intern to join our small, friendly team, so if you think that could be you and want to find out more, please read on...
STREETBEATS! Gig and Fundraiser Saturday 10 May
Londoners! Come along to a night of explosive beats, mischief and revelry to help raise key funds for www.streetbank.com - all thanks to our friends at the award-winning Forge Music Venue in Camden, on Saturday 10 May from 7.30pm.
Streetie-Pie Party Competition - Terms and Conditions
If you're keen to get your hands on a ready-made Pie Party kit for you and your neighbours, make sure you've read the competition Terms and Conditions before you submit your entry.
Streetie-Pie Party Competition with Higgidy
Our friends at Higgidy think community and friendship are just as important as we do here at Streetbank. So we’ve teamed up to help three lucky Streetbank members hold a special Pie Party to bring your neighbours together this summer.
Food Glorious Food
I’ve just come back from Istanbul, land of the pomegranate, and have been thinking about the importance of food to a culture and to communities. This week, we therefore wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our favourite projects that use food as a way to connect people together.
I'm sharing my....
We're asking for your help again. The ask is hopefully a fun one: could you take two minutes to create an “I’m sharing my…” photo? You'll see my cheesy effort below.
If so, we would be super grateful as we need lots of them for a one-minute fundraising video we're creating next week.
Fill Your House For Free are filming Streetbank this Thursday 6th Feb... and you're invited!
We’re running a special Give and Take in partnership with Camden Council this week at Clarence Hall, NW1 8RN, which may be filmed for Channel 4’s second series of Kirstie’s Fill Your House for Free.
Inspired by the Channel 4 programme, this event is about household items and furniture, but we won’t turn books, clothes, toys etc down. We cannot accept electrical items though unfortunately.
The one-stop shop for neighbourhood sharing is here!
Streetbank and Freeconomy unite to become the one-stop shop for neighbourhood sharing
The UK's two largest neighbourhood sharing projects - with members in over 184 countries - are uniting to become the one-stop shop for neighbourhood sharing. At a time when awareness of ecological and financial crises is acute, and calls for tackling social exclusion and loneliness are prevalent, projects like Streetbank and Freeconomy highlight a positive trend of altruism and help foster generosity in our communities through the simple act of lending, sharing skills and re-homing preloved items.
From now on, anyone visiting justfortheloveofit's website will be redirected to Streetbank, where they can sign up to become part of Streetbank's growing movement of neighbours sharing and giving away everything from baby clothes to furniture, harvest apples to baking skills, guitars to camping gear.