In the week before Easter, Sheena D’Aoust felt the need to do something generous for others.
She turned to a new Facebook group called Buy Nothing Flin Flon, and posted the following offer: “Looking to gift an Easter gift a basket for a deserving kid. Please comment below with the age and gender of a child you feel could benefit from an Easter gift basket and I will draw the names from a hat on Friday.”
D’Aoust ended up giving baskets to three different families that weekend.
Launched earlier this year, Buy Nothing Flin Flon is a Facebook group that is a sub-group of Buy Nothing Project, an international organization that aims to promote the gift economy. The gift economy refers to a form of exchange where valuables are not traded or sold, but given without expectation for reimbursement.
The Buy Nothing Project was founded by two American women, Rebecca Rockefeller and Liesl Clark, who decided to apply the easy-to-use platform of Facebook to build a localized online space where individuals could freely give and receive items and services.
“The Buy Nothing Project is about setting the scarcity model of our cash economy aside,” reads the organization’s About page, “in favor of creatively and collaboratively sharing the abundance around us.”
Buy Nothing groups are now operating in 18 countries, and eight Canadian provinces. Group members post items to give away, lend or share—no buying, selling, trading or bartering is allowed. While members who receive gifts may choose to “pay it forward” by posting something else to give away, each group is a space for no-strings-attached generosity.
The Buy Nothing philosophy seems to be garnering a big response in Flin Flon: since the group was created on February 14 of this year, 505 local Facebook users joined the group, which continues to grow.
Recent posts range from an offer to pick up groceries for elderly residents, to a callout for used pop cans for a DIY project, to a request for a second-hand dresser.
“It’s a great way to help someone, and get rid of extra things you may have,” said Tami White, former local admin for the Flin Flon group. “What goes around comes around, bottom line. It is all about people helping people.”
White said she decided to help with the Flin Flon group after joining a Buy Nothing group in Thompson.
“Flin Flon is known for its community spirit and how people often come together to help those in need,” she said.
“I was really impressed with the concept of people helping others with no judgment. The only reward was lending a hand to someone in need.”
While she remains a member of the Flin Flon group, White has now resigned as an administrator. Buy Nothing regional administrator Laura Norris recently posted a request for another local member to manage the group and monitor posts.
