Streetbank

Streetbank.com is a website that gives neighbours the opportunity to offer their time and skills or lend and give away consumer products like a drill to anyone living within one mile of your home.

Website: www.streetbank.com

The aim of Streetbank is to bring neighbours together - to foster community and generosity by encouraging people to share their things, skills and time.

When a person joins Streetbank, they have their own unique one mile catchment area and receive a weekly newsletter showing new members, new offers and wants and local announcements.

The Streetbank team have seen small acts of generosity like neighbours giving away strawberry plants and tomato cuttings to witnessing big acts like sorting out an elderly neighbours back garden or giving away an unused piano. They have seen people lend ladders, power hoses, guide books and fancy dress outfits. They have also seen people baking bread, making pies and giving away some old bottles of champagne that were unwanted after their owner went teetotal!

Streetbank's vision is that through Streetbank sharing what you and your neighbours have, becomes as normal a part of everyday life as visiting the shops.

Streetbank now has over 12,000 members sharing 20,000 items and is growing by nearly 10 per cent a month.

The Award: Streetbank has been awarded £45,000 to make the site smartphone friendly, to integrate it with Facebook and to run a national competition for the best stories and photographs of community and generosity.

Contacts

• Project Manager alice@streetbank.com
• Marketing Manager tess@streetbank.com
• Founder sam@streetbank.com

Case study

Marie

"Through Streetbank I have picked up a fabulous music centre, had my daughter's guitar strung and off loaded a bunch of baby gear to someone who really needed it. And I've met some great neighbours. But, I think the thing that touched me most was the number of people who rustled up VCRs for me when in desperation I contacted Streetbank.

"My child with Autism fast-forwards and re-winds videos and when they break and we have no replacement ready and waiting she screams the house down. I have been really moved that so many people were quite so incredibly kind. Similarly when a pal was looking for some urgent advice on NHS dentists, and I posted a query, the response was fantastic.

"People bothered to reply. That's the thing. In a world that can be quite bleak Streetbank is quite an eye opener to the possibility that that many people have a kind and altruistic side to them."