2021 Genealogy
Volunteer Opportunities
Anybody
remember the 2000 movie Pay It Forward? The story was about
a young boy’s goodwill movement known as “pay it forward.” That’s where we
genealogists learned about the great necessity of stepping up, paying it
forward, to help index or transcribe any number of genealogical records. Remember?
The simplest
way to define “pay it forward” is that when somebody does something for you,
instead of paying that person back directly, you pass it on to another person
instead. The idea in genealogy is that
we all use websites like FamilySearch and Find-A-Grave. We can use those website, we can and do find
information and answers on those (and other) websites because somebody thought to give their time to “paying it forward,” to
helping with indexing.
In this
coming year, especially this first six months when we will all still likely be
under voluntary-mandatory-quarantine, beside learning new techniques and about
new resources for ourselves, how about we give back a bit? Help with one of
these needful projects? Pay it forward?
Here are some ideas to get you
thinking:
1. Here in Washington, our digital
archives offers SCRIBE. This is a template-based program to index digitized
state records. I worked some on early 20th century school records
and now am working on Spokane County marriage records. It just feels good to
“fix” these records so that other genealogists can find and use them. I have no
Washington State genealogy myself but I know others who do.
2. Other state archives have similar
projects; I know the Georgia Genealogy Society offers a parallel project. What
is your state of research interest? Might you be willing to offer time to index
records in “your” state? Check with your state’s archives to see what might be
available.
3. Find-A-Grave is a wonderful website
that everybody uses. But here’s the behind the scenes truth of the matter: way
more people take and upload their tombstone photos than there are people who index the information on those stones
so that the image might be found. What you as a volunteer would do is offer
your help, then tombstone images would come up and you would enter whatever is
carved on that stone into a template. Super extra points if you could read a
language other than English.
4. My good friend, Cynthia Turk, who
lives in Ohio, volunteers for Unclaimed Persons. This project was begun a
decade ago by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak who came to realize that many deceased
persons (their ashes in urns) rested on the dusty shelves of funeral homes and
coroner’s offices. Why? Because no family could be found to claim the ashes.
Their motto is “Every Life IS Worth Remembering” and I believe that is so true.
If you wish to try your hand at helping here, Google “Unclaimed Persons” and
check out the FAQ link to learn about volunteering.
5. FamilySearch is always in need of
indexing assistance. Quoting from Cynthia Turk’s handout, "There are some
interesting projects (waiting here) where you might learn some history, about
types of records or enhance your transcribing skills on early documents.” Click
to FamilySearch.org/indexing to learn more and take the virtual tour.
6. Our National Archives offers a
Citizen Archivist project that involves transcribing, tagging and/or adding
comments to digitized documents. Check it out at https://catalog.archives.gov/registration
7. How about Random Acts of Genealogical
Kindness, https://raogk.org ? This is a really wonderful
opportunity! You sign up for where you live if you are willing to visit a local
cemetery and photo a tombstone or go to a local library or courthouse for
somebody who cannot come in person for whatever reason.
I could
probably go on with a list counting up to ten pages but you get the idea. IF
you want to give some time to “paying it forward,” here are some opportunities
for you. Remember that 2021 will come to
December once again and what will you have to show for your twelve months’ of
time?
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