Genealogists Who Want to Help Ukraine
Interested in hiring Ukrainian refugees to do genealogical research in the countries they have fled to?
Photograph documents in archives
Transcribe/index records
This is currently an interest check to determine how many refugees could be supported.
Interest Check
Submit this form to tell us you're interested. There is no commitment. At this stage, we just need a rough idea of how many people are interested and where the research would be done.
If we are able to proceed, we will email you to discuss further. We will not share your email address with anyone else.
Check "remote work" if you have work that can be done anywhere (e.g., transcribing images you already have).
Why?
Genealogists want copies of these documents anyway, so why not hire people in need?
Even if this does not become a long-term job for a refugee, it could help during a critical time.
If you can also donate to one of these organizations or to Ukrainian friends, please do. This is not intended to replace donations, but to augment them by directing some of the normal genealogical spending to Ukrainians.
This is a job a refugee in a foreign country can do. Photographing documents does not require special skills or language knowledge and we can help with logistics.
If you've been thinking about getting archival documents, don't wait. Now is the time to help.
Interested? Tell us.How?
Genealogy4Good would act as a pro bono "matchmaker" to match genealogists with Ukrainians they can hire.
We would use our contacts and experience to facilitate visits to archives, requests for documents, and transfer/formatting of photos/data.
If multiple genealogists want documents from the same or nearby archives, we would "bundle" the requests to make the visits more profitable for the Ukrainians.
Prices are to be determined, but would be similar to those of regular paid researchers. This is not intended to be a source of lower-cost labor. We want to help them as much as possible.
Payment details are to be determined based on the Ukrainians' preferences. Ideally, payments would go directly from you to them, with no intermediary.
Interested? Tell us.What?
Photos of a single birth record, an entire town census, individual genealogical records or groups of documents.
Anything you could find in an archive, registry office, town hall, etc.
Transcription/indexing of genealogical data in images you already have. You send images and instructions, get Excel spreadsheets with the data (e.g., one row per birth record, columns for child's name, parents' names, date).
Possibly, other kinds of genealogical research, to be determined.
Interested? Tell us.Who?
Genealogy4Good is currently a one-person operation, trying to launch quickly to help those in immediate need, but I expect my genealogy friends and contacts will assist if there is strong interest from the community.
My name is Logan Kleinwaks, I am the developer of GenealogyIndexer.org (Family Tree Magazine 101 Best Websites 2015-2021, IAJGS Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy, cited by the Library of Congress and New York Public Library), JewishGen's Research Director for Danzig/Gdańsk, former board member of Gesher Galicia, speaker at many international Jewish genealogy conferences and to local genealogy societies, acknowledged by the World Jewish Restitution Organization for assistance with restitution research. Three of my great-grandparents lived in Ukraine.
I have operated GenealogyIndexer.org and its predecessor for more than 15 years, always as a free service, without ads, requests for donations, etc. Genealogy4Good will not take any part of funds for the Ukrainian refugees, I am only interested in helping genealogists hire them and will try to arrange direct payments from you to them.
Interested? Tell us.Where?
This is for research outside Ukraine, in countries the refugees have fled to.
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, Israel, UK, etc.
If you already have images that need to be transcribed/indexed, that can be done anywhere there is computer and Internet access.
Interested? Tell us.Other Ways to Help Ukraine
If you can donate directly to Ukrainian friends or to organizations working in Ukraine or with Ukrainian refugees, please do. Genealogy4Good does not accept donations.
UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency, working in and out of Ukraine)
The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Center (helping refugees in Poland)
Hungarian Helsinki Committee (helping refugees in Hungary)
Jesuit Refugee Services (helping refugees in Romania)
Human Rights League (helping refugees in Slovakia)
Charity Centre for Refugees in Moldova
PRO ASYL (helping refugees in Germany)
Joint Distribution Committee (JDC, helping Ukrainian Jews)
Ukrainian Galician Jewish Community (via Gesher Galicia)