For historical societies & volunteers

Local history needs more hands.

History Hands Network connects historical societies and community archives with volunteers, with each other, and with the online world. One simple place to find help, share ideas and keep local stories alive.

Find a way to help Register your society
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.
Charles C. Seifert, 1938. Often attributed to Marcus Garvey.

Our mission

Our mission is to make history work simple, accessible and impactful.

Many historical societies run on a few dedicated volunteers and very little money. We give them one easy place to find helpers, get online and learn from each other.

Simple.

Posting takes a title, a few sentences and a photo if you have one. Signing up to help takes a name and an email. No training, no jargon.

Accessible.

Free for every historical society and community archive. Most volunteer work can be done from home, so anyone can help from anywhere.

Impactful.

Every hour a volunteer gives is counted. Letters get transcribed, photos get scanned, and stories make it online where people can find them.

Why we exist

Why this matters now

Community archives hold the stories big institutions often miss. The first national study of these archives found many of them are stretched thin.

55%
say lack of steady funding is their single biggest challenge.85% name it in their top three.
46%
list technology gaps as a top-three challenge.Websites, scanning, social media and digital storage.
24%
rely entirely on volunteers.When those volunteers move on, the work can stop.

Source: Mellon Foundation and Engage R+D, Powerful but Precarious (2026), a survey of 336 community-led archives.

One hub for history

What you can do here

  1. Volunteer or internHelp a society with one-time, week-long or ongoing projects. Most are remote.
  2. Find a society near youSearch a map of societies that chose to be listed, with their contact details.
  3. Idea HubSee workshops and events other societies ran, and borrow the ones you like.
  4. Donate itemsSee what societies are collecting, from photos and letters to clothing, and offer yours.
  5. Hours & leaderboardVolunteers collect hours on their profile and see who helped most this month.
  6. ResourcesShort how-to guides for caring for letters, photos, textiles and video.

For societies & archives

Get help in three steps.

  1. Make a free accountYour society's name, address and email. You choose whether to appear on the map.
  2. Post what you needOne time, a few weeks, or ongoing, with a rough idea of how long it takes.
  3. Volunteers come to youEvery sign-up arrives in your email and on your dashboard.
Register your society

For volunteers & students

Help history from anywhere.

  1. Pick something you'd enjoyTranscribing letters, scanning photos, social media, translation and more.
  2. Sign up in one stepThe society gets your note right away and writes back to you.
  3. Earn volunteer hoursAfter you help, the society adds the hours you worked to your profile.
Find an opportunity

Volunteer

Societies looking for hands

All opportunities

Idea Hub

Borrow a great idea

See all projects

Leaderboard

Top volunteers this month

    Full leaderboard

    Find a society near you

    Search by town, state or name. Every society chooses whether to be on the map.

    Open the map

    Donate items

    Have old photos, letters or keepsakes?

    Historical societies post what they're collecting. Find one that wants what you have and give your family's history a home.

    See what societies need

    Resources

    How-to videos and supplies

    Short videos from museums and archives, plus places to buy archival supplies.

    News

    Society Spotlight

    Stories about historical societies and community archives: what they keep, who keeps it, and how you can help.