Edgar S Cahn a law professor in the USA invented the concept of Time Dollars. This is a community currency which enables positive action to take place between people.

A Time Dollar is a payment for work you carry out for someone else in a socially beneficial way. There is generally a giver of service and a receiver of service who may not be able to return the favour. In some other community currency systems the trades take place among people who are able to give as well as receive but Time Dollars are aimed more at people who are willing to give without any payment. Volunteers in other words.

There is a concept within Time Dollars that you earn them while you are able and then spend them whe you are not. It is generally middle aged people providing services for older people or people with disabilities but there are some interesting exceptions to this rule.

Some older people with time on their hands agree to phone other, housebound, people to have a chat and see how they are on a daily basis. In the US local calls tend to be free so this is a service which doesn't cost the caller anything. They earn Time Dollars for doing it just as a more able bodied person might make Time Dollars by shopping or doing errands or small jobs for a vulnerable person.

The Time Dollars concept has been expanded and they have been used to encourage students who are unhlikely to attend their lessons to stick at their studies. They accumulate Time Dollars based on their attendance. When they have collected enough they can trade them in for a computer or other prized item.