07 January 2015

RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) has been resurrected!



Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) has been resurrected.  For more than a decade volunteers helped our community get answers to their questions for just expenses incurred. For some history about the original and how it operated, read Dick Eastman’s post, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is Back Online.

The website states ...

Our volunteers have agreed to do a free genealogy research task at least once per month in their local area as an act of kindness. While the volunteers of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) have agreed to donate their time for free, you MUST PAY the volunteer for his/her expenses in fulfilling your request (copies, printing fees, postage, film or video tape, parking fees, etc.) if they ask for it.

RAOGK is a global volunteer organization. At one time we had over 4000 volunteers in every U.S. state and many international locations, and helped thousands of researchers. We are trying to rebuild the RAOGK site. It will take a little more time to get it back to its former glory. Our volunteers take time to do everything from looking up courthouse records to taking pictures of tombstones. All they ask in return is reimbursement for their expenses (never their time) and a thank you.

If you would like to volunteer in your community, at a certain repository, doing photography or in other ways, please register (it’s FREE).  Please do read the FAQ’s For Volunteers before you commit.

Interested in making use of RAOGK, please read Request Guidelines before you consult the RAOGK Volunteer Lookup Directory.

There is also an option to “Ask the Genealogical Community” a question on the main page.

On Facebook, check out the RAOGK FB page.

Links are also provided to other volunteer research sites:
Do recognize that the volunteers only handle very specific and narrowly-defined tasks.  Do not ask a volunteer to do your entire genealogy.  Do not ask them to do anything beyond what they have offered in their description.  Do plan to pay their expenses.  Do plan to be patient.  Do recognize that they may not be able to do what you ask.

Do recognize that their assistance might prove invaluable to your research and please be appropriately appreciative!

Have you benefitted from an RAOGK angel?  If so please share!

Are you an RAOGK volunteer?  Tell us why you are and what has been your most memorable experience as one.



Editor’s Note: We wrote about RAOGK back in September 2011 just before the original version shutdown, RAOGK -- an important and often overlooked resource for on-the-ground genealogical help!







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