Skill Swap Club

My name is Erike De Veyra, founder and head coach of Design Gym, a community studio creating experiences to demystify design, and educating good stewards of design by exercising design thinking and creative exploration. This idea emerged from a Design Gym workshop during Philly Tech Week, where strangers from different backgrounds came together to solve everyday human problems. Facilitated by guest designer Chitsanzo Isaac, our group identified skill swapping as a response to isolation and lack of accessible support systems. This club lets residents trade skills without money. A teenager might teach social media to a senior in exchange for cooking lessons. An experienced carpenter could share home repair knowledge with young adults starting their first apartments. Our neighborhoods are vibrant and culturally rich, home to long-time residents with deep roots alongside newcomers drawn by affordability and creative energy. Yet gaps in connection persist. Many neighbors don't know each other. Resources stay separate. This creates the loneliness and isolation our community workshop identified as a pressing Philadelphia challenge. Skill Swap Club will be a model for neighbor-to-neighbor connection that transforms how Philadelphia communities care for each other. The club also creates accessible ways to connect, in a one-on-one or small group exchange. Whether as a multigenerational community or to offer safe alternatives for disabled residents, introverts, and anyone who finds traditional community events challenging.