BillionGraves
Annie Weaver and Camille Miranda of the Cedar Rapids Iowa Stake take a photo of a headstone in Waterloo, Iowa, on September 8, 2022, as part of the Rescuing our Roots project. Photo by Julianne Weaver, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.
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By Mary Richards, Church News
An effort that began in the Cedar Rapids Iowa Stake and grew to include volunteers around the Midwest United States is now seeking participants from around the world to help break an official Guinness World Records title.
Rescuing Our Roots is the world’s largest BillionGraves project. Ten thousand participants are needed to set a world record on June 25 for the most photos of headstones uploaded in 24 hours.
People can go to a cemetery and take photos on their smartphones this week and then upload them on June 25 through the BillionGraves app. More information can be found at BillionGraves.com/Rescue and registration can be done at BillionGraves.com/JustServe.
Local projects will be posted on Facebook, Instagram and JustServe.org.
Besides BillionGraves, the other major sponsors for Rescuing Our Roots are JustServe, FamilySearch, MyHeritage and the BYU Record Linking Lab. Local sponsors include The History Center of Iowa and the African American Museum of Iowa.
Joining the project will not only set a world record, it will also help the BillionGraves database and FamilySearch Family Tree grow even larger — allowing more people around the world to connect with their ancestors and loved ones.
Cedar Rapids Iowa Stake President Joseph Miller spoke to the Church News last year as volunteers from the community joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in taking photos of headstones, uploading them and transcribing them.
“This concept of connecting with our past and preserving our legacy through a project like this is really resonating with people,” President Miller said.
Those who cannot participate this week can still help Rescuing Our Roots with its second goal — to take photos of one million gravestones and transcribe one million gravestone records before September 30.
BillionGraves
Rescuing Our Roots, which began in Iowa, is attempting a world record on June 25, 2023, for the most headstone photos uploaded in a single day to BillionGraves and connected to FamilySearch. Rescuing Our Roots Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company