Diversifying Media’s Economic Life to Ensure Resilience
Transition’s economic goals are multifaceted. While the Local Economy Group no longer meets as a group, we have initiated many projects and events to promote local economy and educate the public on its benefits, many of which are still on-going.
Our projects include:
– the Media FreeStore, started in 2014 and still going strong! The FreeStore is a store where neighbors can donate unneeded items and others can find items they need for free! It promotes a sharing economy, keeps things out off the trash stream, and creates a welcoming and respectful community who share goods instead of having to buy everything new.
– the Circle of Aunts & Uncles, started in 2018, offers low-interest business loans to local business owners who may not meet the requirements for a bank loan. Aunts & Uncles can donate money into the fund and/or offer business advice and resources to our applicants.
– the Media Business Stimulus Program. At the outset of the 2020 pandemic when many Media businesses had to close, a local website design firm set up a website to sell gift cards to local businesses to give them needed cash flow. TTGM donated $3000 to give buyers $5 off each $25 gift card, setting off a buying spree.
– the Media TimeBank was started in 2011. A program where people could share services on an hour-for-hour basis, it was initially very popular but eventually lost steam and was discontinued.
We held several community-awareness events about various alternate economies such as peer-to-peer lending, alternative currencies, gift economy, public banking, and so on. We hosted an annual FreeMarket event, a pre-cursor to the FreeStore, for several years. Part of the Great Media Garage Sale weekend, it was a place people could bring their unsold items, so others could take them for free, instead of putting them in the trash. Currently, our main Local Economy event is:
– the annual Green Sunday Local Craft Fair. Held every November, in time for holiday gift buying, the Fair hosts local businesses who make their items by hand.
