~~Our Mission and Core ValuesHour Exchange Portland is an hour exchange based on the equality of time, empowering individuals to utilize their assets and enhance their lives, neighborhood and community.Hour Exchange Portland's Core Values (based on the original four values conceived by the "time banking mamas", a group of women that started Grace Hill Settlement in Saint Louis, MO, and the fifth added by Dr. Edgar Cahn):Assets: We are all assets. Every human being has something of value to contribute.Equality: At the heart of every exchange is equality. An hour is an hour, regardless of the service. All people are valued equally.Reciprocity: Helping works better as a two way street. Rather than the traditional roles of "provider" and "consumer", we ask "How can we help each other build the world we both want to live in?"Redefining Work: Work is beyond price. Work must be redefined to include all of the activities it takes to sustain families, neighborhoods and communities, to help democracy work and to advance social justice. This kind of work needs to be honored.Respect: Everyone matters. We must respect where people are in the moment, not where we hope they will be at some future point.