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One of the largest
problems that you will find in taking on a cemetery
restoration project is finding people to assist in the
work. There are Many volunteer organizations are already
established and may be willing to assist in this
project.
- Historical
Societies
As a general rule, Historical societies may not
have the funds to do cemetery restoration and as a
result may be unwilling to get involved in the
cleanup of one specific cemetery for fear that it
may mean having to restore all the other ones in
their county. However, this is not the case in all
areas and you should contact a local Historical
society to find out their specific policies.
- Genealogical
Societies
If there is a local or County Genealogical
society in the area you should by all means contact
them. In many cases, they will be ready and willing
to assist in cemetery clean up and restoration
projects.
- Historical
Preservation Groups
-
Boy Scouts
- Girl Scouts
- DAR - Daughters
of the American Revolution
If you can prove that a veteran American
Revolution is buried in the cemetery, you might be
able to enlist them for some assistance. However,
more often than not it's been proven that they are
unwilling to get involved
- SCV - Sons of
Confederate Veterans
- Veterans
Organizations
- American Legion
In some cases, they may also offer funding
assistance for repairs to cemeteries where veterans
are buried.
- Local Kiwanis
Club
- Local church
youth groups
- Community Service
workers
The use of people working off "Community Service"
sentences (non-violent offenders who are sentenced
to work off X-number of hours of community service).
These can be a ready source of free labor,
especially those folks who want to work off their
community service sentences on Saturdays because
they don't want to lose time from their
Monday-Friday jobs. Check with your local law
enforcement to see if this option is legally
available in your area.
- Inmate Labor
Crews
More and more, groups are working in conjunction
with the County Sheriffs. They are pretty willing to
provide supervised inmate labor. These are not
"chain gangs". Doing this kind of work is purely
voluntary. The inmates get to get outside for a few
hours, they get some fresh air and sunshine, they
get some exercise, they get to do something
productive, and the community benefits from their
labors. These crews from the Sheriff's Office can
also be very important to long-term maintenance of
these cemeteries after the initial clean-up is done.
Check with your local law enforcement to see if this
option is legally available in your area.
- Media coverage
Place an ad in a community newspaper, see if
your local radio or TV stations will place a public
service ad for you. People want to be involved, they
have just never been asked. And you never know who
may show up.
Free labor means you can
dedicate what financial resources you are able to muster
to materials, supplies and professional services. No
matter where you get your volunteers from, one thing
that you should do is to provide lunch for these crews
--- such as deli sandwiches and soft drinks.
One vital thing to keep
in mind is that in most, if not all cases the free labor
that you will find from these and other sources will be
untrained in the field of cemetery restoration. For this
reason alone, you should plan attending at least one
stone repair workshop where you can see first-hand how
repairs are done in usual circumstances prior to
starting your project.
And don't forget
approaching local businesses up for donations on
materials and supplies -- mortar mix, sand, gravel,
shovels, etc. Be sure to give the donors lots of free
publicity. |