The Loanables Mission
Posted by Ryan Fri, 18 May 2007 16:30:00 GMT
We are long overdue for a more interactive way to communicate with our fans! For starters, here is a little more background behind who we are and what we're trying to accomplish. We have a humble goal: to change the world through community bonding.In the beginning...
Loanables started out as two families living in Austin, TX who realized the untapped power of neighborly connections. More specifically, we observed a couple of trends that we felt needed to be changed:1) Neighbors tend to be strangers.
We enjoy our neighbors and our neighborhoods, and we welcome the opportunity to meet more of the folks who live in our area. The trend today is towards less neighborly interaction. Many people communicate more with folks halfway around the world than with the families living just a couple of doors away. That seems odd to us.
2) People have a lot of unused stuff.
We realize how much "stuff" the average family accumulates, and more specifically, how much dust this stuff collects from not being used most of the time.
So we said "hey, why not put these together in a way that benefits everyone!" And Loanables was born.
But wait, there's more
The idea quickly expanded. You see, we also believe in charitable giving. The borrowing idea seemed like a perfect way to benefit non-profits, schools, and other groups and individuals who often need to borrow things that they cannot afford to buy or rent from conventional stores. Donating money is great, but why not also donate items you aren't using? Thus we added a new role at Loanables, that of the CCO -- Chief Charitable Officer. We now let Loaners offer up their items to schools & non-profits at no charge, and are always looking for other ways to benefit those in our community who are in need of help. We have a couple of programs in the works, including one to provide baby clothes/items to parents who cannot afford to buy stuff that their children will outgrow every 3 months.
We also realized that the flip side of borrowing is not purchasing. In addition to saving money, our community is helping to save the earth by reducing the consumerism that seems to be rampant these days. We gave our Chief Charitable Officer another hat to wear, that of CEO -- Chief Environmental Officer. (She is now the CCEO, and is always on the lookout for more letters to add to her title.)
Most importantly, what do you think?
We love talking to like-minded folks, in Austin and around the world. Do you like what we're doing? Do you have ideas for how we can do even more with this community? Please share your comments with us!
What a wonderful way to share and care. Am wishing you much success on your venture.
Hey there - this is such a great idea. Going to get it posted in our neighborhood newsletter. Have you thought about Twitter as another form of communicating with loaners/borrowers locally? A quick 'I need x, can I borrow it' would be cool using twitter. cheers j
Hello Joi -- That's a great idea, we will have to look into that! I mean, if it's good enough for Barack Obama (http://twitter.com/BarackObama) then certainly it's worth exploring. :-)
I think this site is one of the many reasons Texas is such a great place. People in Texas care about each other and Loanables.com is yet another example of how they do it. It really gave me a good feeling that someone would put this kind of effort to enhance the sense of community we all share in. Thanks Ryan.
I've been seeing a few of those by-the-side-of-the-road signs around... I would like to put one or two up in my neighborhood, and I bet a lot of other people would too. May I suggest that you have a little box on the front page telling people how they can get hold of a few of these signs?
Kathy -- We've added a "Help us spread the word" links to the home page and elsewhere on the site. Thanks also for your email -- we'll get you some Loanables yard signs ASAP!
I think you guys should be listed on the City of Austin and Chamber of Commerce websites...! Seriously, this site's a great resource, and they should be happy to share.
Have y'all considered a separate section for books (besides textbooks)? I have a few hundred books, mostly academic in nature, that I'd like to get circulating. There are a few other sites that do this but I'd like to keep them local and I'd like to be able to charge a $2/week rental fee or something, just to be sure I got them back.
Hi Donald, thanks for your note. Yes, we're thinking we should generalize College Textbooks to just be Books. Feel free to post your books under that category and when we make the change, they'll be in the right spot. Thanks for the suggestion!