52 Weeks To Better Genealogy – Challenge #44 – Giving Back

I got my Facebook invitation from Geneablogger to take part in this week’s challenge. Being new to this genealogy blogging thing I wasn’t sure what it was all about apart from I guessed giving something back to the genealogy community.

So I clicked on the links in the Facebook message.

Like most other researchers I have used Family Search for many years – especially for IGI information. I must admit that I hadn’t given much thought to all the work that goes in to the indexing of the various records. Just grateful that someone has done it.

However today I signed up to be an indexer for Family Search and completed my first five batches. I intend to make this a regular task. It didn’t take long – only perhaps and hour or so. That’s not much time to give to such vital work for genealogists now and in the future.

If you haven’t signed up then go to the Family Search website and have a look.

I also clicked on another link to Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.

RAOGK is a global volunteer organisation with over 4000 volunteers in every US state and many international locations. Volunteers take time to do everything from looking up local records to taking pictures of tombstones for other researchers who are unable to get to a particular place – perhaps because it’s in another country.

So I’ve volunteered to take photographs of tombstones in cemeteries in West Yorkshire (England).

I feel as though I have done something really worthwhile today – must reward myself with a glass or two of something alcoholic tonight. Maybe best not to do any indexing afterwards.