Keara Schwartz remembers what she learned in kindergarten, that sharing means caring. She recently launched a website, Share Some Sugar (www.sharesomesugar.com), that brings this mantra to life. Share Some Sugar is a website that lets you connect with neighbors who are willing to lend you something you need. Keara believes that sharing will build strong communities all around Cincinnati.

It is with this sentiment firmly in place that Schwartz has set forth to make good neighbors out of all of us. Well, even if that’s not the main reason she started the site, it certainly is a good one.

Keara Schwartz is a New York native who works for Procter & Gamble as a Senior Design Manager. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in Industrial Design, she moved back to New York to work for Aveda and ABC Carpet & Home, working on sustainable design before landing a job at P&G that brought her to the Queen City. It was her experiences here in Cincinnati that ultimately led her to create Share Some Sugar.

“I got the idea for the site about 3 and a half years ago when I moved into a house in Hyde Park from Over-the-Rhine,” Schwartz explains. “I just didn’t have house stuff like ladders and gardening tools. I was 24 and a single woman; I wasn’t going to buy all that stuff. So I knocked on some neighbors' doors and tried to borrow these things instead. And while I could go on Google and find thousands of results for ladders to purchase, no one in my neighborhood had one to lend me.”

Then the light bulb went off. “I thought to myself, there had to be a way to take the technology we use every day and create an online inventory of what you and your neighbors have. That way people can find what they need and do not have to buy it, especially if they’d only be using the item once or twice.” She named her start up Share Some Sugar, invoking the “good old days when you would knock on a neighbor’s door to see if they would share some sugar with you.” Only now, it is a virtual knock (E-knock? I-knock??).

But make no mistake; while this is an internet based service, it still hopes to foster real-life community building within the different neighborhoods of Cincinnati. Since the website’s launch in November of 2009, Keara has been to several neighborhood council meetings in places like Clifton, East Walnut Hills, and Northside, meeting with people who are already interested in the idea of stengthening our neighborhoods and communities.

“I wanted to connect to early adopters, people who are already excited about something like this, before I try to convince others who may not be as receptive right now,” Schwartz says. Clearly, there is a good group of people already excited. Since launching the website a few short months ago, there are already well over 2,200 items posted for sharing on the site, ranging from chainsaws to lacrosse sticks to DVD players.

“In fact later today, I’m going to pick up a vacuum and a steam cleaner from two different people,” Schwartz laughs. “My vacuum broke and I don’t want to buy a steam cleaner! So now it’s free and I get to meet new people. I think that's pretty cool!”

Schwartz has also been able to use her experience at P&G to create a strong brand identity and equity and attract many local followers through use of online social media outlets. She points out that her goal from the beginning has been to strengthen communities within neighborhoods through sharing. So when she began to blog and use sites like Facebook and Twitter to talk about these ideas, people listened.

“I started to have 1,500 people following my Twitter updates because they were interested in the ideas I was talking about,” Schwartz comments. “I posted stuff about neighborhoods, alternative economies, saving the environment, etc. but I didn’t talk about myself or my brand. Then as it got closer to the launch date for the site, I started to let people know that there would be a new way for them to make these ideas happen, Share Some Sugar.”

Since moving to Cincinnati, Keara has met many people interested in helping her bring her ideas to fruition. She notes that the friendly and encouraging atmosphere has been imperative to the growth of her business.

“If I was in New York trying to do this, I would probably be really overwhelmed, frustrated and intimidated. Cincinnati is a great place for my idea because there are so many strong neighborhoods and people who are already passionate about them already. And in terms of being an entrepreneur here, there is just a wealth of people with knowledge and experience. They want to help create strong companies here in Cincinnati; they understand that it’s good for the city.”

Speaking of innovation, Keara believes that many more creative enterprises will spring up here in Cincinnati in the near future. “Historically,” she explains, “some of the biggest companies around today have started in a recession. What often happens is you have really bright people who lose their jobs. Instead of sitting around, these people come together and create something amazing. So I think this recession will give birth to some really great ideas, provided funding is available.”

Keara’s opinion has been echoed by a number of local innovators. Maybe it is something in the water, but there are a number of people excited to see what kind of ideas come out of Cincinnati in the next few years. Unfortunately, ideas are one thing that can’t be borrowed on Share Some Sugar. For most anything else, do yourself a favor and sign up at www.sharesomesugar.com.