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Posted Feb. 3, 2000

Services Exchange 'Useful' to Community

By Bill Wohlfeld
Observer Staff Writer
Recently, Carol Berman made a videotape for Jim Goldfrank, who gave rides to Nancy Davis. Davis walked Lynn Jordan's dog and Jordan then helped Sar Rad with consumer problems. Tom Hartnett picked up a package in Leesburg for Doug Webbink who, in turn, resuscitated Hartnett's ailing computer.

What do these people have in common? They're all members of Useful Services Exchange. USE, as it's commonly called, is a community-wide grassroots clearinghouse bringing together people who need some kind of service and neighbors who are able to help them. Like the barter system of bygone years, services are traded and no money is paid for them. The medium of exchange is in hours of USE credits as members "repay" in-kind by helping the person who fixed the broken "gidget" or assisted other USE members who accumulated credits for services they gave in the past.

USE was the brain child of Henry Ware some 25 years ago. Ware, a former neighbor, now deceased, was a PhD international economist, an accomplished linguist and an ardent gardener. Before moving to Reston, he and his wife, Nan, owned a thrift shop in Vienna that was unique because instead of paying for items purchased, customers would trade in something of equal or greater value. Ware later used this experience to establish USE with the idea of tapping the talents of neighbors to help each other in exchange for receiving help in turn. The USE concept has since been publicized in Time, Newsweek, Money Magazine and Readers Digest.

"USE is a very loose organization with a hierarchy of just two: a president and treasurer," explains Dee Cotton, president for seven years. She joined USE in 1975 when operating expenses were paid for by community fund-raisers. Annual dues were eventually set at $3 and about 10 years ago, they were raised to $5. Even Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, would cheer such a record of fiscal discipline and responsibility.

Now, before you shy away from joining USE by claiming to be the world's clumsiest person with no special skills to offer or that you're too busy to commit time to helping somebody else, let's look at how it works. USE is the most egalitarian organization imaginable. All services, regardless of complexity, are treated equally: one hour credit for one hour of service.

Anybody can join and make a USEful contribution. Diana Lord, although having to use a wheelchair, is a regular user and provider of services to USE. She enthusiastically calls it "the best deal in town." There are no age or residence restrictions, with members ranging from teenagers to old-timers. Most members live in Reston but some come from as far west as Ashburn and as far east as Falls Church.

The kinds of services available are almost unlimited. Members get an annual USE directory crammed full of 20 pages listing services ranging from mundane repairs and chores to the more unusual, like Siatsu massage for relaxation and stress reduction, offered by John Newman, who even makes house calls.

For USE members who are stymied and can't figure out what service to offer or what is available, the directory has a "Miscellaneous - Just Ask!" category. You can then swap ideas with others having the same dilemma. Members are encouraged to use their creativity in offering new services whether you're a klutz needing help, a skilled artisan, or a person on a tight time schedule who can't take time off for no-show repair men who promise to come by at 10 am. Almost anything legal is acceptable.

Iris Lloyd is USE's treasurer and all-around office manager. "USE has a social side, too," she said. "There's a newsletter about three times a year and a potluck dinner in the spring and fall when members get to eat and meet other members," and exchange ideas as well as food.

So get USEful and join USE. Just phone Dee Cotton at 703-742-8164.