California Genealogical Society blog: Addicted to genealogy? Volunteer at California Genealogical Society!

written by Kathleen Beitiks

Years ago, when I thought about the word “addiction,” I never even considered pairing it up with the word “genealogy.” However, since I became a volunteer at CGS, I find that I want to introduce myself by saying, “Hello, my name is Kathleen Beitiks and I am a genealogy addict.”

Photo courtesy of Ron Madson

The California Genealogy Society is staffed with volunteers who would probably freely admit that they, too, are hooked on genealogy. And it’s those volunteers who have kept our organization chugging along since 1898.

Volunteers are the heart of CGS – and we always need more. Our loyal volunteers bring with them a variety of skills and interests that keep CGS alive and thriving. Sometimes they teach us and other times we teach them.

Life moves on, however – some volunteers “retire,” or they pass away or other commitments take them away from CGS.

When that happens, we need to “fill the gaps” with another generation of genealogy “addicts” who want to donate their time and talents to the organization that has provided them with the tools to dig up the stories and lives of their own ancestors.

Currently, we are looking for members who can donate a few hours a month to help us with some of the following volunteer positions:

Website Development – If you love working on websites and have some experience, then we need you to update content and oversee the maintenance and development of our website.

Computer Maintenance – Join our team of volunteers who spend a few hours, once a month, keeping our computer systems up and running.

Tech Steering Committee – Help create a vision of how we integrate and leverage technology to strengthen our brand and keep us on the cutting edge in the world of genealogy.

Desk Duty – One of the best ways to learn about us is to volunteer for Desk Duty once a month. Basically, volunteers staff the reception desk to answer questions from library patrons and answer the phone.

Events Committee (Marketing, Eventbrite Manager, Offsite Events Assistant) – The Events Committee is looking for several volunteers: Marketing - Help us put out the word about our events and classes; Eventbrite.com Manager - Work remotely as the manager of our online sign-up site for classes and events; Offsite Events Assistant - Help us with special offsite events, held 2-3 times a year.

Digital Historian – We could use a generous volunteer to spend some time digitally scanning our historical records and preserve them for our archives.

120th CGS Anniversary Historian – In 2018, CGS will be 120-years-old! Champagne, party hats and noisemakers will be in good supply, but we also need a volunteer now to help us compile the glorious history of the organization that has helped thousands of people compile their own family histories!