Helping You Helps Me
I know, it’s the opposite of the way they say it on TV, but for us, that’s the way it really works. One of the great things about researching your family’s history is that your constantly “paying it forward.” We don’t really think about it, but all those searches we do and books we consult are there because someone else took the time to enter records into a database which sorted them and made them available, or digitized something for us to read. In the same way, when we enter our research into a public family tree we make our research available for others. Because someone has helped me, now I am helping you!
Want to Stay Healthy?
Paying it forward is reason enough, but doing for others has health benefits as well. The Mayo Clinic reports that when we do things for others, like sharing our discoveries, not only will it give us a “sense of meaning and appreciation” but reduces the risk of other conditions, like “heart disease, stroke, depression, and anxiety.”
From Idea to Action
Another way you can help others discover their family history is by indexing. Indexing is a great way helping you helps me. FamilySearch.org has a worldwide team of indexers that anyone can join. After you create an account go to this page to get started. Don’t worry, your work will be checked, so if you make a mistake it will be corrected. By indexing these records for others you will quickly become an expert at reading manuscripts! This is how I learned, and I can now read a deed from 1750 almost as fast as I can read a typewritten page. After a few indexing projects, you will too!
Another way helping you helps me is by digitizing your family’s memories. Many of us have home movies on film or boxes of old pictures, slides, or negatives stuck in the top of our closets. You can preserve those memories for future generations by digitizing them. Sites like Archive.org will allow you to upload your memories and make them available, not only to your relatives but to future generations. Heroes of the past offers digitization services for most film and video tape recordings. Contact us to find out how to preserve your memories!
