Volunteer Opportunities

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Board Leadership 

Treasurer

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Responsibilities:

• Manage the Society's bank, PayPal, and investment accounts.

• Prepare periodic (typically monthly) financial statements.

• Prepare the required annual tax (IRS and NYS) and corporate filings.

• Act as a resource to the Board.

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Skills/Qualifications:

• Familiarity with financial reports.

• Knowledge of accounting helpful but not required.

• Familiarity with financial software (Quicken or QuickBooks) helpful but not required.

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Commitment:

The Treasurer is a voting member of the WNYGS Board who is responsible for attending monthly Board and Finance Committee meetings.  This is a termed volunteer position.  The individual must remain a WNYGS member in good standing.

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If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about this opportunity, please email finance@wnygs.org.  

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Director  

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Responsibilities:

• Be responsible for the fulfillment of the objectives of the Society by the collective performance of the Executive Board as set forth in the by-laws and policies.

• Attend the Executive Board meetings and actively participate in the management of the Society.

• Support the Society by regular attendance at the general meetings.

• Serve on one or more committees of the Society.

• Monitor the activities of committees for which the Board has assigned responsibility and report to the Executive Board.

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Commitment:

A Director is a voting member of the WNYGS Board who is responsible for attending monthly Board meetings.  This is a termed volunteer position.  The individual must remain a WNYGS member in good standing.

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If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about this opportunity, please email president@wnygs.org. 

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Publications

Editor

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Responsibilities:

The Editor plays an important role in helping the Society meet its objective to further genealogical knowledge and research through education. The Editor is responsible for the publication and distribution of the official quarterly periodical of the Society, The Western New York Genealogist. Key functions are to solicit the contribution of materials and articles, edit content submissions, and supervise the production and distribution of the Genealogist. 

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Skills/Qualifications: 

Writing, editing, email, internet, leadership, dependability, flexibility, multitasking, detail-oriented, and the ability to work well with others. 

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Technology Requirements: 

Computer, Microsoft Word. 

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Commitment: 

The Editor is an ex officio, voting member of the WNYGS Board, and attends monthly board meetings. The Editor is primarily responsible for acquiring Genealogist content and editing submitted articles but is also the overall supervisor of the Genealogist. The Editor works on the Genealogist team which also consists of the Production Editor, contributing editors, proofreaders, and an indexer. The Genealogist meets four quarterly publishing deadlines (June 1, August 15, November 15, and February 15). The selected candidate must remain a WNYGS member in good standing. This is a permanent volunteer position. 

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If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about this opportunity, please email president@wnygs.org.

  

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Community Outreach

Publicity Chair

 

Responsibilities:

• Be responsible for the preparation, publication, and distribution of key Society information to the membership, the media, the community, and other relevant organizations.

• Maintain an up-to-date list of contacts useful in publicizing Society activities and messages including radio, TV, newspapers, social media, libraries, other societies, etc.

• Answer inquiries concerning the activities of the Society, and when required, refer the contacts to the appropriate member of the Executive Board. 

• Design images, flyers, and collateral in support of Society events and activities.

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If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about this opportunity, please email president@wnygs.org.

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50th Anniversary (2024)

 

The WNYGS Board has started brainstorming ideas for celebrating this momentous occasion, but input from WNYGS membership is essential. WNYGS would not exist without the multitude of members who have participated and contributed to the Society all these many years. To that end, the Board is asking all members for suggestions and ideas about how to make this celebration extraordinary. 

 

In addition to ideas, we need members willing to serve as committee chairs and volunteers to get the ideas off the ground. If you are interested in learning more about committee chair and volunteer positions, please email info@wnygs.org.

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Library 

Library Volunteer Coordinator

 

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate, prepare, and maintain the monthly schedule of volunteers at the Central Library.

• Be responsible, with the help of the volunteers for:

  • Providing assistance to researchers in locating material in the collection.

  • Helping reshelve WNYGS Library materials used by patrons.

  • Maintaining proper order of materials on shelves and in drawers.

  • Receiving and shelving additions to the collection.

  • Removing damaged books for repair and following procedure for work to be done.

• Relay feedback from patrons to the Library Chair.

• Assist the Library Chair in the orientation and subsequent training of the Library volunteers.

 

If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about this opportunity, please email volunteers@wnygs.org. 

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Preservation

Project Coordinator and Indexer/Transcriber

 

WNYGS members are involved in a variety of transcribing & indexing projects and additional volunteers are always very welcome to keep this work going. Volunteers may work locally as well as remotely via email. When a project is being transcribed from digital images, the images and a spreadsheet are emailed to volunteers who then return their completed files to the Transcription Chair. Some projects are carried out using original books/documents, and the information is transcribed directly into a spreadsheet. Project training and guidance are provided to all volunteers. 

If you are interested in learning more about our current transcription/indexing projects, please email preservation@wnygs.org for more information. 

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WNY Historian Project

Historian Outreach Volunteer

If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about this opportunity, please contact the Chair at historianproject@wnygs.org.

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