Volunteers and senior citizens around a large Sahyog Time Bank pot in Jodhpur

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about Sahyog Time Bank, membership, volunteer support, time banking, and elderly care.

General Questions

Sahyog Time Bank is a community initiative dedicated exclusively to elderly care, companionship, and time-based support. Our basic philosophy is simple: We may not be able to solve every problem, but we can give our time, presence, respect, and companionship.
Yes. Sahyog Time Bank is dedicated only to elderly care and companionship. It is not a skill-sharing platform or a marketplace for professional or personal services.
Sahyog provides companionship and accompaniment, such as at-home companionship, visits to a doctor, dentist, optician or physiotherapist, temple visits, walks in the park, diagnostic tests, collecting prescribed medicines and hospital companionship.
No. Sahyog provides non-medical companionship and support only. Our volunteers are not a substitute for doctors, nurses or other medical professionals.
No. Sahyog does not provide medicines. A volunteer may, however, accompany a member to collect medicines prescribed by a doctor.
No. Groceries, ration, food supplies and household items are not part of Sahyog’s elderly-care services.
No. Sahyog does not give money or financial assistance to individual members.
No. Sahyog does not provide, buy, rent or guarantee any medical equipment.

Membership

Any eligible Indian citizen aged 18 years or above may apply for membership, subject to Sahyog Time Bank’s registration and approval process.
Members are expected to respect the organization’s values, rules, safety guidelines, and Code of Conduct.
You can register online through the Sahyog Time Bank website, or fill in a physical membership form and submit it through the designated process.
Yes. Membership is free. There is no registration fee, annual fee or service fee.
No. A donation is not a condition for becoming a member or for receiving eligible services.
Yes. Sahyog may accept voluntary donations of money or resources to run the organization. A donation is not a payment for membership or for any individual service.

Time Banking

A Time Bank is a community system in which people contribute their time to help others rather than exchanging money.
At Sahyog:
1 hour of eligible service = 1 Time Credit
The credit represents the time contributed to the community.
No. A Time Credit has no monetary value. It cannot be cashed, sold, bought, or treated as income or an investment. It is only a record of the time contributed.
Members are encouraged to contribute their time whenever they can, but receiving support is governed by Sahyog’s membership and service rules and is not automatically tied to having provided service first.

Help Requests

A registered Sahyog member may submit an eligible help request through the prescribed process.
Where appropriate, a family member or authorized person may assist the member in communicating the request.
Submit a request through the member portal or the designated channel, giving the member’s details, the type of help needed, the date, time, location, expected duration and any other details needed for coordination.
No. Fulfillment is not guaranteed. It depends on volunteer availability, the nature of the request, timing, location, safety and Sahyog’s rules.
No. In an emergency, please contact emergency services, a hospital or a doctor immediately.
Yes. Eligible members may request at-home companionship, subject to volunteer availability and safety considerations.
Yes, subject to volunteer availability. The volunteer offers companionship and support only, not medical advice.
Yes, subject to volunteer availability and suitability.
Yes, where appropriate and subject to volunteer availability.
Yes. A volunteer may accompany you, but Sahyog does not provide or pay for the medicines.