THE EIGHT

THE EIGHT, Inc. nonprofit organization "...where our primary responsibility is students’ economic well-being by changing Hobbies into lucrative careers..."

1. To help guide individuals on how to tackle a variety of issues within their own value system. Counseling and Support Groups dealing with issues such as independent living; bereavement & trauma; relationships; substance use & abuse and anger management. Recreational and cultural activities including access to creative arts.
2. To provide respectful, responsive, informed support for students to identify and achieve their academic and professional goals.
3. To provide Life Skills in order to sustain independence and to be able to give back to the communities in which they live.
4. To assist with basic essentials to help offset the financial demands and to help people who are falling through the cracks of traditional assistance programs.

1. Higher education through Vocation and Life application
2. Entrepreneurship by turning hobbies into lucrative careers
3. Rehabilitation for People living with Invisible learning disorders and mental health challenges (including Veterans)
4. Empowerment through Peer to Peer Support and mutual respect
5. Economic efficiency through collaboration and co-ops
6. Reciprocity through Mentorship, Experience, and Successes.
7. To Build Partnerships and Fuse Services in Support of a "Well" community.
8. Help motivate and celebrate Wellness Enthusiasts who help make wellness the "norm" throughout Riverside and Los Angeles Counties, Including those who offer Mentoring Services, peer to peer support, job mentors, independent living mentors, and guest mentors.

INOV8 TimeBank is an initiative of the THE EIGHT, runs on a simple concept: For each hour of service that members give, they earn an hour’s worth of alternative currency known as time dollars, which can be traded for services from other members.

For Example: For 16 years Judy Arendt made sure her 119-year-old Victorian row house in Allentown, Pa., was well maintained — ripping up carpets, stripping wallpaper and repairing ceiling cracks. But now Arendt, 61, is sidelined by osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, and living on a small pension.

Arendt joined a timebank in Allentown, VA four years ago, earning time dollars by driving other members to medical appointments. When she recently needed housepainting done, she withdrew 36 hours of credits to hire a 12-member work crew for three hours.
At an estimated $15 an hour for labor, the job would have otherwise cost $540, Arendt says. Minus the time investment, the project “only cost me for the paint.”

Time banking is the brainchild of law professor Edgar Cahn, whose books Time Dollars and No More Throw-Away People describe how trading services — everything from haircuts and dance lessons to weatherization and health care — can strengthen communities.

About 270 time exchanges exist nationwide; memberships range from a few dozen toseveral thousand. Models vary, but all time banks rely on the collective power of members who deposit and withdraw hours from a central account, often managed with sophisticated software tools.

THE EIGHT found that, on average, the best student outcomes in terms of both degree-earning and reduced time to degree occurred when all four options for applying PLA credit are available to students. In other words, the greater the flexibility the student has for using the PLA credit, the better the academic outcomes.

THE EIGHT programs are Designed and delivered to address the areas of motivation, opportunity, and skills; with the main objective of encouraging more young people to start an entrepreneurial undertaking or venture and at the same time to improve young peoples’ general employability.

THE EIGHT offers Educational Workshops and Certifications with the emphasis on wellness and safety for youth, parents, expectant mothers, schools, community organizations, and businesses.

We have conducted over 500 special Pop-up Preventive Health Screenings and Earthquake Readiness Outreach Events for all Ages.

Our Distribution Outreach Events which offers basic essentials like food, clothing, shoes and miscellaneous items for over ten-thousand children, families, and individuals experiencing a crisis.


INOV8 TimeBank is a newly launched program for the Coachella Valley, although there are over 280 TimeBanks located nationwide. We are in the process of pulling together resources and partnerships to meet the workforce development needs of a diverse resident base and building the programs to a large enough size through collaboration among many organizations.
Bring TimeBank Ambassadors/Members together at regular social events
Encourage TB Members to request services. (Monthly Award for the member with a positive balance who has spent the most.)
Implement plans for sustainability through contributions of time energy and monetary support.

Form an INOV8 Career Advisory Committee and Conduct Focus Groups – Business, Education, Technology, Faith-Based and Community Organizations, Youth, Veterans, Parents.
Hire Staff to include 4 Full-time, 4-Part-Time and Implement the TimeBank tracking system (Community Weaver Software)
Develop an individual, tailor-made approach and Invest in research, benchmarking and testing.
Carry out detailed evaluations and impact assessments.