I believe the idea of alternative currency is a good one as there are numerous means by which purchases and exchange of currency can benefit people, places and things. Although we as humans are accustomed and have grown up to know about one type of currency – that produced by the government and confirmed as specific types of dollars, we learn that there are “alternative” ways to make currency exchanges.
Many of us exchange goods and services through alternative currency types and may not realize it; we just do it. The article presented makes it clear that not only can it be done but that it has been. They give us specific examples of countries who developed and named their specific currency (such as in a small town named Lewes, located in Sussex, England, where the Lussex Pound was produced; this particular currency came with a special edition beer from a local brewery).
My alternative currency would be in the form of a specific service: desktop publishing. I’ve had experience in this area for over 15 years and have produced flyers, brochures, programs, announcements, and other special event material, without charging a monetary fee. (Events include weddings programs, obituaries for funerals, birthday parties, brochures for businesses, flyers, house-warming notifications, special literature specific for an event, newsletters, and so on.)
In return for my services, I was able to participate in some special events, donate to a cause, and saved someone or an organization, hundreds of dollars in advertising costs.
Some examples are:
Flyers – As a way of donating toward the cause of a specific event, one example would be through my church’s homeless ministry where we donate items toward the needs of homeless men and women. Instead of giving traditional money, I provided the service of producing flyers which served as a donation toward the cause. It also can alleviate the cost of flyer preparation from an outside company.
Obituaries - This applies in a similar manner as the above. It acts as a donation for the family members from me, instead of traditional currency that I could have given them. They do not have to pay an outside person to produce their obituary programs as I do it all for them.
For the customer or receiver, they received more than they could have asked for and totally within their budgets as they were produced for free. As for me, I receive heartfelt gratitude from those I have served and personally feel a sense of a great accomplishment.
Perhaps we can become better stewards of what we have to make purchases, or for whenever we use traditional money, as it will benefit an individual, an organization or a cause.
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