A Little Hour Exchange Portland History
In late 1995 Dr. Richard Rockefeller (the founder of Hour Exchange Portland) first heard Dr.
Edgar Cahn speak about Time Dollars. Up to that point, most of Richard's philanthropic
dollars had supported environmental issues.
After hearing Edgar speak, Richard says a light went on - a sudden realization that we
can't expect people to take care of our environment, if we are not first taking care of each
other. He felt compelled to bring the concept to Maine and began to share
his vision in 1996. In 1997, Maine hosted an International Time Dollar Congress in
cooperation with Dr. Edgar Cahn (Founder of Time Dollars), bringing together 40 Service Exchanges
from all over the world. For many, it was the first opportunity to share their experiences
about their programs and learn from others.
For Hour Exchange Portland , the Congress inspired new vision and direction. Our
committed and visionary Board of Directors decided it was time to grow a local (model) Service Exchange and Hour Exchange Portland was born.
