By Marta Nowinska
Marta Nowinska
Swapsity Founder
As the year draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members, supporters and the entire Swapsity team, for making 2011 a year to remember!
It’s truly been a phenomenal and action-packed year for Swapsity. Let’s look back at our most memorable moments of 2011.
#1
Witnessing the
"Aha!" Swap Moments
"Really? I can use yoga lessons, carpools and coaching
as
currency?" Absolutely!
Being so used to using cash and credit cards, many of
us forget
about alternatives, such as barter. We love
seeing faces light up when people
suddenly "get
it" about swapping. They experience the
value of
participating in the sharing economy first-hand by
getting a stack
of ‘new’ DVDs at our events, listening to
our guest
speakers or swapping online.
Our swappers are quickly learning that their things, talents and time act as non-monetary currency. Hearing swappers say: "this is SUCH a good idea!" and "we really need this" brings a big smile to our faces.
#2 Getting
People to
Swap
From Yonge-Dundas Square to the University of Toronto
campus, we
got Canadians swapping!
Online and offline, our swappers have made thousands of
swaps
through our community. They have bartered for iPods,
Mac notebooks,
guitars, massages, business consults, basket weaving
lessons,
jewellery repair, media, fashion, art and much more.
Check out our
featured swap stories, if you happened to
have missed
them.
#3 Knowing That We're Making a Difference
Our 2011 calendar was abuzz with swap meets and educational events. We gathered the stats to see the social, economic and environmental impact of these events:
Note: The statistics reflect the combined
efforts of our
media and clothing swaps in 2011
Fantastic job!
Through the Swapsity website, swap
meets and
educational events, we seek to promote a
culture of
swapping, sharing and reusing instead of always buying
new stuff
and maxing out credit cards. We see swapping as a way
to empower
Canadians on environmental, financial and social levels
while
helping build more connected communities and a greener
planet.
#4 Being a Part of the Live Green Toronto Festival
This summer, we teamed up with the Toronto Environment Office for our biggest and most successful swap event yet. Not only was the event 100% free, it was also the highlight of the festival. Thanks to the help of Live Green Toronto and our fabulous volunteers, swappers saved $18,000 during the nine hour swap marathon. A total of 3,300 items were recycled that day, 2,350 of which were swapped and the rest were donated to charity.
Our cute and cuddly mascot, the Swaptopus, got a kick out of the media swap, mingling and snapping photos with enthusiastic visitors. It was a day to remember!
#5 Hosting Buy Nothing, Swap Something Day
To open minds and eyes to the benefits of barter, we hosted the wildly successful and well-attended Buy Nothing, Swap Something Day on November 25th.
The inaugural event included a screening of the documentary, "Living Without Money", an inspirational talk by the Barter Babe and a group discussion on the emergence of the sharing economy. Key takeaway from the event? Get out and barter, folks!
# 6 Seeing
Happy
Swappers
Nothing makes us happier than seeing satisfied swappers! Head over to our swap stories to read about some happy swappers like Lisa, Gerry or Tori. Bella, who recently scored a free laptop through Swapsity, is yet another fulfilled swapper!
Our swap events also didn’t disappoint. Many lit up faces and enthusiastic responses such as “Great energy! Looking forward to the next swap!” or “This is so awesome!” made our day.
What
can we say? Happy swappers + awesome
swaps = warm
and fuzzy feeling!
#7 Working
with some
Awesome Volunteers
This year we hosted six big swap events and four
educational
events, all of which were volunteer-run and free for
Torontonians.
A heartfelt thank you to all our amazingly dedicated
and
enthusiastic
volunteers who gave up their time to
help make
everything run smoothly and successfully. You rock!
#8
Collaborating With
Fantastic People
In 2011, we have had the opportunity to collaborate
with many
amazing folks and like-minded
organizations such
as:
It's been a pleasure collaborating with you and we look forward working with you and many more fantastic people in 2012.
#9 Seeing
the Media
Share Swapsity
We were spotted in over 30
media mentions this year, including
those by CTV,
Yahoo News, MSN Money, Shareable, Torontoist,
Moneyville, The Grid,
MoneySense and many more. They brought attention
to Swapsity
and its mission to make swapping accessible to
Canadians and raised
awareness of the benefits of barter. The media is
quickly noticing
the growing popularity and importance of the swapping
economy and
is eager to share it with their readers. Keep ‘em
comin’!
#10 The
Promise of a
Bright Future
We are on a mission to get
Canada swapping! Through our online
swapping
platform and swap events, we will continue to play a
leading role
in engaging Canadians in Collaborative Consumption in 2012.
The Collaborative consumption
movement—rapid growth
of swapping, swapping, sharing and gifting—is
quickly
gathering momentum and revolutionizing the way people
get things.
According to Time Magazine, Collaborative Consumption
is one of
“10 Ideas That Will Change the World”. We
have lots of
exciting things planned for 2012. Stay tuned!
What were your favourite Swapsity moments? Leave a
comment to let
us know.
Wishing you all the best in 2012 and see you next year!
