I Share is a new campaign to promote sharing and off-line social networking. It's a way to promote the financial, environmental, time and efficiency benefits of sharing while also supporting community building. Your "I Share" window sign, button or sticker lets people around you know you are interested in finding something to share with them, such as: tools, cars, gardens, meals, skills, pet care, housing, and more.

The Future We Are Creating

Through the I Share campaign we wish to create vibrant communities where neighbors and coworkers know each other and share resources. We endeavor to make I Share signs accessible to all and a recognizable symbol in communities everywhere.

How We Are Creating It

We recognize the growing sense of social isolation in communities throughout North America and elsewhere. I Share addresses this directly by facilitating face-to-face interactions between neighbours, coworkers--and others nearby. These location-based social bonds support social, emotional and physical well-being, and a sense of personal investment and engagement that makes for strong and resilient communities.

We plan to make I Share signs free through our website (www.isharesign.org). The website will also provide resources on how to start sharing: ideas for starting conversations with others, examples of things and ways to share, sample written sharing agreements and links to other resources.

Our Story & Why You Should Support Us

We have momentum and great team. At this time we are entirely run by volunteers. I lead a group of 10 lead volunteers and 34 on-call, task-based volunteers. I am a community development and non-profit management professional and have worked in and advised government, non-profits, co-operatives and social enterprises for 18 years. We have supporters and volunteers from a number of community organizations such as Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, Kwantlen University, the HiVE Vancouver, Social Venture Institute, Ashoka, Village Vancouver, Shareable.net and the Sustainable Economies Law Center (US), and are formalizing those relationships and identifying new partners this fall. With the money raised from our supporters our pilot project will launch in winter 2012/13.

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