Meet the Team: CeCe Moore

This week's guest post is by Genealogists for Families team member CeCe Moore from California, USA.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a Southern California native and live by the beach with my fiance and my seven year old son. I am a former professional singer/actress, but am now behind the camera working with my partner producing commercials for our company StudioINTV. My genealogy activities include serving as the Southern California Regional Coordinator for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), the co-moderator of the ISOGG DNA Newbie mailing list, as a genealogy advisor for DNA testing company 23andMe and writing the blog 'Your Genetic Genealogist'.

What do lending and participating in this project mean to you?

It is a forum where I can contribute in a small way and see exactly where that contribution is going and what it is accomplishing. Many charities seem to be too weighed down by bureaucracy and it is difficult to know how the money is really being spent. Although I cannot do a lot, I like the idea of many people working together to help a specific individual or family to better their lives.

Did you choose particular borrowers because their occupations or situations have some significance in your family history or your own life?

Not so far, but I do tend to focus in on women who have small children. In the future, I would like to loan to individuals in the United States whenever that is possible because I believe we have many who need help right here at home. I plan to get my son involved in choosing the borrower to teach him about actively helping others.

How did you hear about the Genealogists for Families project?

The wonderful and inspirational Joan Miller invited me to participate.

Do you have a strategy for raising funds or saving for your $25 loans?

I have taken the advice of Judy and enrolled in the survey sites. It is slow going, but I have finally earned enough to make a new loan.

Your Web site or blog?

Genetic Genealogy blog (www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/), and my personal genealogy blog (http://mytangledvine.blogspot.com/), and the business Web site (www.studiointv.com).

Your main family history interests?

I am an active genetic genealogist who strives to help others understand and utilize the fascinating application of DNA testing to family history research. I am the volunteer administrator for the Proctor DNA Project, the Travis DNA Project and the Hemings/Jefferson autosomal DNA Project.
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Meet the Team: Roger Moffat

This week's guest post is by Genealogists for Families team member Roger Moffat from Caledonia, Michigan, USA.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a very proud New Zealander who considers Christchurch his home town, even though I haven't lived there in more than 20 years. I'm retired, but was previously Manager of New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica, preceded by four years at New Zealand's Campbell Island weather station in the Southern Ocean. I've been pursuing family history since attending a family reunion in 1989. I'm active in the Clan Moffat Society in the USA, and with the Western Michigan Genealogical Society, whose databases website I run.

How did you hear about the Genealogists for Families project?

I joined Kiva in 2011 after seeing some publicity about it on Facebook. Prior to that I had been aware of the organisation and looked over information sent in the mail, but hadn't become involved.

What do lending and participating in this project mean to you?

It's such a small amount that means so much to those who receive it, and unlike many groups which take your money and then immediately ask for more, with Kiva you get good feedback on the progress of 'your' dollars. And when it's done, you have 'your' dollars back to then lend to someone else.

Did you choose particular borrowers because their occupations or situations have some significance in your family history or your own life?

Both of my parents were born on farms in New Zealand, so I tend towards those looking to improve their situations in a farm setting.

Do you have a strategy for raising funds or saving for your $25 loans?

No, I started with one loan, and when that was half paid back added enough to make another loan. I expect that by the end of a year I might have four loans going.

Your Web site or blog?

Roger's Ramblings (http://LisaAndRoger.com/). It isn't as up to date as it could be as I've tended in the last year or more to use Facebook as my blog - a habit I tell myself I must break.

Your main family history research interests?

My Dad's ancestry is (seemingly) entirely Scottish, and my Mum's is predominantly English, with a line or two of Scottish. Six generations are shown on the pedigree chart on Roger's Ramblings. The surnames of my 8 great grandparents are Moffat, Stoddart, Dewar, Breingans, Lineham, Lansberry, Scarlett and Mulvey/Mulvay.
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Meet The Team: Gary Barton

This week's guest post is by Genealogists for Families team member Gary Barton from Arizona, USA.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Retired Xerox Corporation Marketing Director. I reside in the sunny desert community of Mesa, Arizona, USA (with 100 days of 100ºF temps last year). Since retiring from the editorship of our family association's quarterly newsletter I've become happily involved in the Guild of One-Name Studies (a UK based worldwide organization) and am the Guild's Regional Representative for eight mountain states in the USA.

How did you hear about the Genealogists for Families?

Through Dick Eastman's Newsletter. Hopefully my email signature will reach others (Make a Small Loan, Make a Big Difference! Learn How at www.kiva.org/team/genealogists).

What do lending and participating in this project mean to you?

It's a meaningful way to 'make a difference' on a limited retirement income.

Did you choose particular borrowers because their occupations or situations have some significance in your family history or your own life?

I loaned to a USA borrower recovering from the results of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana. I did so because I wanted to start at home. Unfortunately $25 is a small amount but it was amalgamated with others to reach the borrower's desired $10,000 USD. She's repaying on time.

Do you have a strategy for raising funds or saving for your $25 loans?

My demographics don't match most Profiler Surveys, but the funds are accumulating slowly.

Web address of your website or blog?

www.garymbarton.com and www.bartondatabase.info and www.one-name.org/profiles/Barton.html.

Your main family history interests?

I'm lucky to have identified 29 of my 32 great-great-great-grandparents, many back 10+ generations: (Denmark) HANSEN; (Germany) STIEGELMEYER, HINNENKAMP, SCHUTTE, OTTE, ZIES, SEVERINGHAUS, MTEZGER, PFAU; (Netherlands) VAN COUWENHOVEN, SCHENCK; (England) STUBBLEFIELD, LOONEY, SKAIFE, GRANGE; (French Canada) LANGEVIN, RAVENELL, MALO; (Ireland) DOOLING, RICKEY.
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Meet the Team: Thomas MacEntee

This week's guest post is by Genealogists for Families team member Thomas MacEntee from Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I consider myself a professional genealogist specializing in social media and technology. I write articles for publications, I teach classes and give lectures both in-person and over the Internet via webinar. I created and manage the GeneaBloggers website which lists over 2000 family history blogs. I absolutely love what I do and want to make sure that each person who wants to search for their roots can take advantage of the many tools and resources in the genealogy community.

What do lending and participating in this project mean to you?

Being part of Genealogists for Families actually helps bring me back to my roots, to the way my ancestral families have always operated: being available to assist others in a time of need. Through my research, I've found that in many of the small towns where my families settled, there was an underlying support system and a prevailing attitude that "helping one person or one family succeed means we all succeed."

Did you choose particular borrowers because their occupations or situations have some significance in your family history or your own life?

I chose a borrower who actually had a business related to history. She is creating a cultural tour business and since I know that heritage travel is a growing industry, I believe she'll be very successful.

Was there a borrower whose success story inspired you?

What struck me most about the borrower I selected was her determination and tenacity. She is located in New Orleans which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. With practically all the odds against her, she moved back there not only because her roots are there, but because she is committed to the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Do you have a strategy for raising funds or saving for your $25 loans?

While money is tight for me, I looked around at everything I had and I knew that $25 or even more is an amount I could spare.

What is your Web site?

Abundant Genealogy (previously GeneaBloggers).

What are your main family history interests?

Dutch lines of Dence, Putman, and Van Slyke; English lines of Austin, Crandall and Leehive; Huguenot lines of Deyo, Freer and Lefevre; Irish lines of Farren, MacEntee/McEntee, McGinnes and Slattery.
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