The following Internet sites can help pair you with organizations that are seeking volunteers with your skills, talents, and interests.

VolunteerMatch www.volunteermatch.com

This nonprofit is devoted to “helping everyone find a great place to volunteer.” The organization offers a variety of online services. You can quickly find an opportunity that matches your location, interests, and skills via an easy-to-use search engine.

If you are looking for a particular organization, simply enter your location and the name of the organization on a special search form. Even if you can’t get away from your desk, consider searching the Virtual Volunteer listings that let you volunteer from virtually anywhere.

The popular service welcomes millions of visitors a year and is an Internet recruiting tool for more than 50,000 nonprofit organizations. Time magazine has selected VolunteerMatch as one of the Top 10 Websites of 2007.

Volunteer Solutions www.volunteersolutions.org/volunteer

At this site you can fill out an application that will match you with volunteer organizations linked to United Way. United Way, which has existed for more than a century, is “a national network of more than 1,300 locally governed organizations that work to create lasting, positive changes in communities and people’s lives.”

TechSoup www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/volunteers

CompuMentor, the organization that sponsors TechSoup, is “the first full-fledged technical volunteer matching program in the U.S.” Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, CompuMentor uses this site to provide matching services that link nonprofits to volunteers with technical backgrounds. If you are skilled in any aspect of information technology (computer programming, security, technical writing, and so on), this is a great place to find an organization that needs you. If you are pressed for time, you might be able to help without ever leaving your desk.

On Your Feet Project www.oyfp.org

On Your Feet Project is a national nonprofit organization whose goal is “engaging young people in community service and activism by educating them about diverse nonprofit organizations.” They also create opportunities for direct community involvement for young people in the cities of Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

Youth Service America http://ysa.org

Youth Service America is “a resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people, ages 5 to 25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally.” Founded in 1986, YSA’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. YSA also has pages on MySpace and Facebook.

AmeriCorps www.americorps.org

AmeriCorps is “a national network of programs that engages more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in communities throughout the nation.” AmeriCorps offers several ways to get involved, from part-time local service programs to full-time residential programs. Members receive guidance and training so they can make a contribution that suits their talents, interests, and availability.

AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, VISTA has long been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America. VISTA members commit to serve full time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, and much more.

Senior Corps www.seniorcorps.org

Senior Corps “connects today’s over 55s with the people and organizations that need them most.” If you have a lifetime of experience to share, this organization can help you become a mentor, a coach or a companion to people in need, or contribute your skills and expertise to community projects and organizations. Senior Corps was conceived during John F. Kennedy’s presidency, but is enjoying a renaissance as the population ages. Today it has linked more than half a million Americans to service opportunities throughout the United States.

Senior Corps offers numerous ways to get involved. The Foster Grandparent Program connects volunteers age 60 and older with children and young people with exceptional needs. The Senior Companion Program brings together volunteers age 60 and older with adults in their community who have difficulty with the simple tasks of day-to-day living. RSVP connects volunteers age 55 and older with service opportunities in their communities that match their skills and availability, from building houses to immunizing children, to protecting the environment, volunteers receive guidance and training.

Citizen Schools www.citizenschools.org

Citizen Schools operates a national network of apprenticeship programs for middle school students, connecting adult volunteers to young people in hands-on learning projects after school. At Citizen Schools, “students develop the academic and leadership skills they need to do well in school, get into college, and become leaders in their careers and in their communities.” You can apply through this site to become a professional after-school educator or a Citizen teacher.

City Year www.cityyear.org

City Year is a full-time youth service corps. Its signature program each year brings more than 1,400 young people, age 17 to 24, together for a “demanding year of full-time community service, leadership development, and civic engagement.” They tutor and mentor school children, reclaim public spaces, and organize after-school programs and school vacation camps. Visit this site to learn about the application process and to watch videos that will inform and inspire you.

Experience Corps www.experiencecorps.com

Experience Corps is an award-winning program that engages people older than 55 in 19 cities across the country (including Baltimore; Cleveland; Philadelphia; New York; Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; Tucson; Tempe; San Francisco; St. Paul; and Portland, Oregon). Thousands of Experience Corps members tutor and mentor elementary school students struggling to learn to read. Independent research shows that “Experience Corps boosts student academic performance, helps schools and youth-serving organizations become more successful, and enhances the well-being of the older adults in the process.”

Peace Corps www.peacecorps.gov

The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960. Since that time, more than 190,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have been invited by 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.

Today’s Peace Corps Volunteers are deployed worldwide, each for a term of 27 months (including training). They work in the following areas: education, youth outreach, and community development; business development; agriculture and environment; health and HIV/AIDS; and information technology. The average age of a volunteer is 27, but 5 percent of volunteers are older than 50—and the oldest is 80.

At this site you can learn a great deal about the Corps and view testimonials from past and current volunteers.

Jesuit Volunteer Corps www.jesuitvolunteers.org

The Jesuit Volunteer Corps is a national and international program. In all, about 250 JVs each year work in the United States and in seven countries around the world.

Hundreds of grassroots organizations across the country count on JVs to provide essential services to low-income people and those who live on the margins of our society (the homeless, the unemployed, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill, and the developmentally disabled).

JVC has become the largest Catholic lay volunteer program in the country. Volunteers make a commitment to serve for at least one year.

Learn and Serve America www.learnandserve.org

Learn and Serve America supports and encourages service-learning throughout the United States, and enables more than one million K-12 students to make meaningful contributions to their community while building academic and civic skills. Service learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. By engaging young people in service-learning, Learn and Serve America aims to instill an ethic of lifelong community service.

A national study of Learn and Serve America programs suggests that effective service-learning programs improve grades, increase attendance in school, and develop students’ personal and social responsibility.

Teach For America www.teachforamerica.org

Founded in 1990, Teach For America aims to connect the 13 million students in America’s poorest schools (only half of whom now graduate from high school) with the country’s most accomplished young college graduates.

TFA has become one of the largest recruiters of graduating college seniors in the United States. By 2010, Teach For America plans to manage 8,000 corps members, who will make up 10 to 30 percent of the new teachers in the 33 communities they serve.

Volunteers make a two-year commitment.

Landmark Volunteers www.volunteers.com

Landmark Volunteers offers high school students 58 summer service opportunities across the country with important and dynamic nonprofit organizations. Its core philosophy is that “young people are an integral part of our society and that they have something unique and important to contribute if given the opportunity to do something real.”

Most of the programs are of about a two-week duration. Keep in mind that there is a fee to participate in the programs, which includes room and board and supervision.

Big Brothers Big Sisters www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters matches children ages 6 through 18 with mentors in professionally supported one-to-one relationships. The organization has volunteer programs in communities across the country. Matches come together in community-based and school-based settings. Volunteers must commit one hour a week, and might spend time doing anything from tutoring to going on a hike, shooting hoops, or playing board games. If you volunteer, be prepared for an interview and background check. Matching specialists will then pair you with a youth who can benefit most from this very special relationship.

Through this site you can also link to the Malachi Program, which involves mentoring children of prisoners.

Habitat for Humanity International www.habitat.org

Visit this site to learn about domestic and international programs for Habitat. The goal of this organization, made well-known through the work of Jimmy and Roslyn Carter, is to “eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.”

Here you can volunteer locally and get more information about one of Habitat’s many programs, including youth programs, the Global Village Program, Women Build, Operation Home Delivery, Disaster Response, and RV Care-a-Vanes.

Meals on Wheels Association of America www.mowaa.org

MOWAA member programs throughout the country provide nutritious meals and other nutrition services to men and women who are elderly, homebound, disabled, frail, or at-risk. These services “significantly improve the quality of life and health of the individuals they serve and postpone early institutionalization.”

Visit this site to learn about volunteering in your community and to submit an application.

Boy Scouts of America www.scouting.org

This is the website of the Boy Scouts national organization. It’s a good place to get an overview of scouting programs and begin learning about the role of adult leaders in scouting. These opportunities include forming a Cub Scout or Boy Scout troop, becoming a Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster, or becoming a merit badge counselor (the latter coaches a diverse range of skills from wood carving, basketry, and archery to camping, swimming, first aid, life saving, personal fitness, communication, and environmental science).

Girl Scouts of the USA www.girlscouts.org/for_adults

Girl Scouts of the USA is “the preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls—all girls—where, in an accepting nurturing environment, girls build leadership skills for success in the real world.”

Visit this site to learn about the many opportunities available to help girls in this comprehensive program that expands horizons and builds values. The level to which you’d like to get involved can be tailored to fit your life. Here you’ll find tips and tools for helping you use your creativity and great ideas to become a successful leader and advisor.

SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) International www.spca.com/volunteer

By registering at this site as an SPCA volunteer, you will be adding your name and contact information to the organization’s list of volunteers who could be called upon to help in saving animals in times of need. This extensive database “is intended to become the largest family of animal lovers worldwide.” Everybody who completes a form here will be on the SPCA’s Basic Volunteer List. You can also indicate if you would like to be on the Readiness Volunteer List for disasters or the Foster Home Volunteer List for shelter animals.

If you enjoy working with animals, you should also consider contacting your local SPCA animal shelters directly. In most cases, you’ll be asked to attend an initial orientation session and then be offered the opportunity to train for a position as a hands-on dog walker, cat socializer, or animal adoption counselor.

The following organizations offer ways to allot some of your vacation time to helping others around the world.

United Planet www.unitedplanet.org

United Planet’s Volunteer Abroad Quest program combines “volunteering abroad, language learning, cultural activities, learning excursions, and special Cultural Awareness Projects.” Both skilled and unskilled volunteers of all ages and nationalities can participate from 1 to 52 weeks in 50 countries worldwide—from India to Cambodia to Costa Rica and beyond. Admission is based on “level of commitment, motivation, responsibility, flexibility, and character.” Applicants represent all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds.

GlobalAware www.globalaware.org

GlobalAware offers volunteer vacations in Peru, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Jamaica, Romania, Ghana, Mexico, and China. These one-week adventures in service focus on cultural awareness and sustainability, and are often compared to a “mini peace corps.”

Volunteers need no special skills nor do they need to speak any foreign language to work on these meaningful community projects.

All program costs, including the cost of airfare, are tax-deductible.

ProjectsAbroad www.projectsabroad.org

This organization sponsors volunteer programs and internships in the developing world. You can volunteer on a tremendous variety of projects in 20 destinations. Opportunities include working on environmental projects, on community development projects, and even writing for local newspapers. Two-week trips are organized for high school students during the summer.

Earthwatch Institute www.earthwatch.org

Earthwatch Institute “engages people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.”

On an Earthwatch eco-tour expedition, you will be volunteering your time and energy to scientific research or a conservation project in 1 of 50 or so countries. You don’t need any special skills to be a volunteer. Earthwatch volunteers range in age from 10 to 90. As a volunteer, you might choose to band penguins in South Africa or tag endangered sea turtles on Pacific beaches. You might measure snowpack density on the frontlines of climate change or map water supplies in drought-stricken northern Kenya.

Global Volunteers www.globalvolunteers.org

Take a volunteer vacation here in the United States or abroad with this organization, which supports some 100 host communities in 19 countries year-round through short-term volunteer teams. Families, groups, or individuals can sign up for trips that last one to three weeks. No specialized skills are needed.

Cross-Cultural Solutions www.crossculturalsolutions.org

As an international volunteer with Cross-Cultural Solutions, you will live and work with local people. The organization offers a short-term volunteer program and an Intern Abroad program for students (internships last from 2 to 12 weeks). Programs are available in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.