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There are many ways you can contribute, whether you're a local yokel or a distant cousin!
Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated! We give you our thanks in advance for
any contribution you can make, whether large or small, since in helping each other, we
also help ourselves. Meet other genealogists and gain the power of networking by volunteering.
Here are just a few ideas to get you started.
Whether you live locally or far away, you can help:
- Submit 5-generation ancestor charts or updates.
Your 5-generation charts will become a part of our Ancestor Chart File at the GSWC Library
where it may help you connect with other people researching your lines. Surnames and
localities extracted from ancestor charts are published in the Family History Capers
and indexed in a database. We could also use help with data entry by anyone with the
ability to email files.
Submit Bible records.
Our extensive collection of Bible records may come from anywhere in the world and are
not limited to Washtenaw County. These become a part of our Bible Records Registry,
a volume which is available in the GSWC Library and is indexed nationally. One Bible record
is selected for publication in each quarterly issue of the Family History Capers.
Submit a news item for publication in The GSWC Newsletter.
The Editor also appreciates assistance with editing, proofreading, production, and mailing.
Submit an article for publication in Family History Capers.
Our Editor is very willing to work with you to publish your article. The topic may be
specific to Washtenaw County or may be of a more general nature, such as articles on
ethnic research, research experiences and things learned, etc. The Editor also appreciates
assistance with proofreading, production, and mailing.
Publish your query in Family History Capers.
Members and non-members alike are welcome to submit queries for
publication in our journal. Queries with a reference to Washtenaw County and the surrounding
area may be submitted by anyone, no charge, space permitting, as often as you like. GSWC
members may submit free queries for any locality, not limited to Washtenaw County. All
queries are indexed for reference.
Donate a copy of your book or publication to our library.
If you have published an article, book, or booklet relating to Washtenaw County, we would be
especially pleased to be able to add it to our extensive collection of Washtenaw County materials.
Donate genealogy and history books to our library.
If you are downsizing your library or have genealogical or historical books you no longer use,
consider donating them to the GSWC. We enjoy an excellent collection of how-to books and have
many that are specific to other localities. Any duplicates are periodically sold to our members
or to workshop attendees and the proceeds used to purchase even more books for the library.
Donate genealogical CDs to our library.
We have recently designated one of the computers in our library to be used with the collection of
genealogical CDs we have begun to accumulate. Any CDs you would be willing to part with to help us
start our collection will make our researchers very happy!
Request research and make a research donation.
Research files are maintained and indexed by surname at the GSWC library. Let our research committee
check materials available for your ancestors by submitting a research request
and enclosing a donation of $10 or more (with SASE). Any amount not used to cover expenses goes into
our library fund to purchase books and materials.
Submit your Michigan surname to our surname list.
If you are a GSWC member, submit your printed, typed or computer-generated surnames to be included
in the next Michigan Surname Sharing List. You, too, may find other members researching the same
Michigan surnames!
If you have Internet access, you can help:
- Give us your comments and feedback on our website.
We would be grateful if you would do us the honor of telling us what is great, good, useful, needs work,
or needs correction on our website. Your feedback
will help our webmaster to create one of the best and most useful genealogical society websites
on the Internet.
List your publication on our website.
If you have published a book or booklet which you promote and sell yourself, we would like to boost
your sales, if possible, by listing your publication on our Books In Print
page. We will list any publication with a Washtenaw County connection plus any that were authored by
a present or past GSWC member or speaker. Use the feedback form
to make your request.
List your genealogy web page on our website.
If you have Washtenaw County relatives in your family tree or are a present or past member of the GSWC,
submit your request to list the URL of your
genealogy homepage on our Member's Home Pages master list.
Publish your query on our website.
Submit your Washtenaw County query
for automatic publication on our query page.
Online queries will be indexed as they are archived.
Submit Washtenaw County data for publication on our website.
If you know of information that would lend itself to being published on the web (see our
Washtenaw Data Files page for examples), our webmaster would
be happy to work with you to make it available to a larger audience.
Become a Washtenaw County Genealogy Helplist volunteer.
The helplist concept pioneered by Mike Rice is a network of volunteers who do specific kinds of research
or lookups but do not charge for their time. Anyone who volunteers, even if only in a small way (such as
lookups in a library or courthouse) earns the right to use the services of other Helplist volunteers.
We list Washtenaw County participants on our Helplist page.
Create a reciprocal link to our website from your web page or your society's website.
If you like our website and find it useful, help us to promote it by creating a
reciprocal link on your web page, or asking your society's webmaster to add one to theirs. Please
let us know if you do so that we can add a link from our Reciprocal Links
page to yours as well.
If you live in Washtenaw County, you can help:
- Bring cookies and/or beverage to meetings.
Between a lecture and a class, we serve cookies and fruit juice to everyone who attends
our monthly meetings. A sign-up sheet is passed around to get volunteers to provide the
goodies. We are also short one hospitality chairperson to take charge.
Participate in a library work session.
Once a month on the third Monday (about 7:30-9:00pm), our librarian sponsors a work party
to catalogue and shelve new books and periodicals, file information in our surname files,
and generally keep the library ready for research. Filing can be done whenever the
library is open.
Become a library volunteer.
The GSWC provides volunteer librarians to man the desk at the
LDS Family History Center and
GSWC Library
during the hours when it is open. Training is provided.
Volunteer to do library research.
The GSWC research committee does research in our library by request from genealogists
anywhere. This is a great opportunity to hone your research skills and pick up a few
more tips and techniques. Training is provided.
Join us for our annual cemetery reading.
During the summer, we schedule our annual trek to a local cemetery to read headstones
and gather information to be made available in our library and for future publication.
Details are announced in our Newsletter and in the
Ann Arbor Observer's ArborWeb site. Help preserve
the valuable information found in our county cemeteries before it crumbles away.
Transcribe death records.
The GSWC participates in the Michigan death records project by transcribing Michigan
death records to be published on the website of the Michigan Department of Community
Health. Materials and packets are available at meetings.
Assist at monthly GSWC meetings.
Bring GSWC publications and other items to sell at monthly GSWC meetings.
Sign up occasionally as a greeter to greet guests and members, answer questions,
and assist with the registration of new members.
Volunteer to lead a class.
If there is a topic about which you are knowledgeable and which would be of interest to
others, propose your topic to our education chairperson. The schedule is booked several
months in advance, but there is almost always room for one more!
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