Volunteer Spotlight
RootsWeb.com values each individual and organization that volunteers their time and talents to making our site one of the best on the Internet. We hope you enjoy meeting some of these outstanding volunteers whose dedication have made a difference to RootsWeb.com and other researchers.
BELGIUM-ROOTS Project:
Volunteers dedicated to assisting Belgian Immigrants and Their Descendants
RootsWeb.com is the host of several websites produced and maintained by volunteers. These volunteers donate their time and resources in an effort to provide free information for genealogists researching specific locations or surnames. One such organization is the BELGIUM-ROOTS Project, which is designed to assist descendants of Belgian immigrants and emigrants living abroad search for their Belgian roots.
Georges Picavet created the BELGIUM-ROOTS Project in July of 1995 when he began using the Internet to research Belgium emigration. He would assist researchers by looking up information for those who were unable to travel to the physical location of the information.
Not long after its creation, Picavet began receiving a large number of requests from American researchers. The high volume of requests inspired Georges to expand this project by creating a website in July of 1997. The website provided a forum where volunteers could submit information to assist remote researchers, and eventually evolved to be a Belgian research guide.
By 1999 all data from his site had been transferred to a RootsWeb.com sponsored site, where Luc Mathis is the currently the site administrator. This site has continued to act as a forum where volunteers can post information applicable to those researching their Belgian ancestors. The one hundred plus volunteers provide a variety of services ranging from record submission, to transcription, and proofreading. Another site feature is the Lookup Library, which is a resource that lists all books and articles currently available for lookup by one of the site volunteers, as well as those that are located on the site.
The site also includes links to various RootsWeb.com resources where applicable information can be found. There are also two RootsWeb.com sponsored mailing lists for this project. BELGIUM-ROOTS-L serves as a discussion forum for Belgian researchers, while BELGIUM-COMMUNITIES-L acts as a medium for conversation about political topics that might not be appropriate for discussion on BELGIUM-ROOTS-L.
The dedication of this organization to assist descendants of Belgian immigrants and emigrants living abroad, and searching for their Belgian roots makes the BELGIAN-ROOTS Project a valuable asset to RootsWeb.com users, as well as others in the genealogical community.
On behalf of RootsWeb.com and the entire genealogical community, we thank you.