volunteering

While most kids are accustomed to celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a welcome day off from school, this year we encourage you to take an active approach to commemorating Dr. King's legacy by participating in the National Day of Service. While the president has officially designated Saturday, Jan. 19 for the occasion, you can really take advantage of any (or all) days of the long weekend to get your family involved. Here are five ways that you and your kids can make a meaningful impact for those in need:

1. Find a Project in Your Community: The Corporation For National and Community Service has come up with an extensive, easy-to-use database of volunteer opportunities across the country. Visit its site, type in your zip code, and choose from any number of projects that matter to you and your family.
2. Clean Out Those Rooms: Even if it's too last-minute to find a community volunteer activity, that doesn't mean your kids can't still partake in giving back. Task them with cleaning out their closets and toys, and then take all the goods that they've decided to get rid of to a nearby Goodwill, your place of worship, or any other facility in your community that accepts gently used goods.
3. Start Your Own Project: Use one of the Corporation For National and Community Service's Service Toolkits to organize a clothing or book drive, support a community garden, or develop a concept of your very own. This approach has the added bonus of teaching kids about leadership and organization.
4. Hurricane Sandy Is Still Leaving Her Mark: It's hard to believe that three months later, many on the East Coast are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy. If you live in the NY/NJ area, then see what volunteer opportunities exist to help still-suffering hurricane victims.
5. Kids Helping Kids: Teach your kids firsthand about the amazing work that the Ronald McDonald House does for the families of sick children by checking out the organization's "30 Ways in 30 Days" suggestions on how volunteers of all ages can help.

While the superstorm Sandy may have passed, its effects on the hardest-hit areas of New York and New Jersey won't be going away anytime soon. In the wake of such a massive calamity, it's hard enough for us to make sense of it all as adults, let alone try to explain what happened to our kids. If you're fortunate enough to be counting your blessings this week, get the whole family on board to spread a little love by volunteering or making a donation to those who are struggling. Here, some of our suggestions for how you can help to pick up the pieces:

If You're in the New York/New Jersey Area

• Let It Be Known That You're Ready to Help: Mayor Bloomberg has asked anyone who wants to volunteer to email nycservice@cityhall.nyc.gov with your name, email address, and borough.
• Give New Kids Clothes: Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.) is collecting new kids and baby clothes, toys, and other products.
• Give Gently Used Baby Gear: Baby Buggy is accepting gently used (less than three years old) baby gear at its NYC headquarters: 306 W. 37th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues, 8th Floor). Call 212-736-1777 first to schedule your delivery.

Keep reading to learn more ways to give back to the victims of Hurricane Sandy — both from NYC and from afar — and see our tips for talking to your kids about the storm.

Voting is the most important activity we citizens can engage in during this year's election, but some of us want more involvement in the political process. So where to start? Volunteering for a candidate, political party, interested organization, or even for your local polling place can be a great way to support causes important to you and spread word about the importance of voting. Here are a few ways you can get involved.

Volunteer for a candidate.
Contributing money to a candidate isn't the only way to make a difference in the outcome of the election. Political candidates can't campaign without the help of scores of citizens willing to donate their time and energy to support them. Contact the local field office of your chosen presidential candidate or the headquarters of your local officials on the ballot this November. They will welcome your help in making calls to generate support and donations, recruiting more volunteers, and participating in voter registration drives.

Get involved in grassroots fundraising.
If you're surrounded by like-minded folk in your online and offline communities, then consider a grassroots approach to fundraising for a favorite candidate or cause. Many candidates — like Mitt Romney and Barack Obama — encourage supporters to solicit donations by reaching out to Facebook friends. And aside from door-to-door fundraising or phone banks, candidates encourage citizens to host fundraising events in their homes or at community centers. While speeches and debates can sway the masses, personal outreach can be a far more effective recruiting tool. Just keep in mind that any hosting expenses exceeding $1,000 per election are considered campaign contributions if the event benefits a federal candidate.

For three more volunteering ideas, just keep reading.

Check out tons of travel opportunities in this article from Wise Bread.

Short of winning a sweepstakes, a no cost holiday to a foreign country is an impossibility for most people. Of course, there are countless ways to reduce the cost of a trip, but ultimately you must decide if the traveling is worth the money you will spend on it. With growing fears of recession and a dramatically weakening dollar, the scales of reason seem to be tipping more and more in favor of staying at home.

Related: Secrets to World Travel (and Blogging About It)

But what if you could travel for free, even be paid a stipend, in exchange for contributing time to help a foreign community as a volunteer?

Purposeful travel has become very popular and the opportunities to take 'volunteer vacations' are endless. However, all of these programs cost money, often just as much as a traditional package tour.

There are a lot of good reasons why travelers should pay to volunteer, but we are about to see that you don't have to.

Here are 11 options for free or very cheap travel through volunteering:

Long-term Programs
The Peace Corps is the classic all expenses paid volunteer option that first comes to an American's mind. They offer two-year appointments, mostly in Africa, Asia, and South America, as well as modest stipends. Popular among recent college graduates, the Peace Corps is actually open to people of all ages. It is part of a larger government program called Freedom Corps, which includes the Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP). VfP offers similar benefits and projects as the Peace Corps, but assignment lengths are variable, from a few weeks to several years in duration.

The United Nations volunteer program sends experienced professionals from almost any field to every region on earth. As a volunteer all expenses, including airfares to and from your work site and any pre-appointment necessities like vaccines and visas, are covered. In addition, volunteers receive various grants and stipends that vary in amount depending on the project's local economy. Like most of the groups in this list, they are looking for people with extensive experience in their field. Like the Peace Corps, most appoints are for two years, though they claim to be increasing the number of six-month and year-long options.

The ArtCorps is a program specifically designed for professional artists. The program focuses on using art as a teaching tool, as well as a means of expression, for communities that face pressing social problems. Though the program does require that participants do some personal fundraising, the cost of travel is otherwise fully covered, along with a small stipend. Most assignments last 11 months.

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) was recognized as the "International Development Charity of the Year" at the 2004 UK Charity Awards. They have placed over 30,000 volunteers, primarily in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. They provide a stipend, in addition to covering all expenses. While most assignments last two years, there are some special projects for experienced professionals lasting between two weeks and six months.

Read on for more.

Privileged and beautiful, Lauren Bush, the niece of former President George W. Bush, is also a big philanthropist. TrèsSugar recently sat down with Bush for an interview, in which the model spilled the deets about FEED, a project she founded to fight world hunger. Bush gave advice on how busy women can find the time to give back:

"I feel lucky that I've been able to integrate giving back into my job, so it's all one in the same, which is not necessarily the case for most. But most companies do offer opportunities to volunteer or encourage that to some extent, and if they don't, it's a thing to push for. It can be this overwhelming thing to be like, 'I need to find the cause that I'm so passionate about. I need to jump headfirst.' And at some point people might do that, but in the meantime, just dabble and learn and find small things you can do. Like my brother — this isn't small; it's actually quite huge — but he's a Big Brother. And it's changed his life, changed this little kid's life. And it's just the coolest thing. It's a big time commitment to open your life up to a kid, but he loves it. You don't always need to start your own, and nor should most people."

It's always good to start small and to be realistic about your time commitments. You need to pick activities that are doable because giving back should always feel fulfilling and not like something that you feel obligated to do.

November is the month of giving, and I previously gave you seven tips to starting your own volunteer initiative at work. Now that you have a better idea of how to plan your approach, take a look at some of my suggestions you can implement at your office. Remember, you need the support of your office, which means getting the OK from HR or an executive, before you start your "thanks giving" plans.

• Going Green: There are several things your office can do to help the environment. Your company can focus on reducing waste with simple things like printing on both sides of the paper and saving your data on computers instead of paper. You can suggest installing recycling bins at your workplace and encourage the use of nondisposable products among your co-workers.
• Donating: Pick a nonprofit that you think suits your company's vision, and pitch it to HR. There are creative ways of donating so explore all the alternatives. For example, you can create a "team" for your company on Kiva, a microfinancing nonprofit, and you'll be able to keep track of which employees become members and donations the group has made online. Another idea is to even ask people at the office to donate items such as books, so you can give them to organizations such as the Salvation Army.

For more suggestions on volunteer initiatives you can start at work, read on!

There's a new feature out on LinkedIn, called the “Volunteer Experience & Causes” that will let you properly showcase your volunteer work on your profile. This is an important new addition to your online résumé because it might just boost your job prospects. According to LinkedIn data, 41 percent of employers consider volunteer work to be as important as paid work.

"It shows that you're a passionate professional who's adept at multitasking," Krista Canfield, the senior PR manager of LinkedIn, tells SavvySugar. "It's also worth noting that you can develop new skills during your volunteer work which will help you become a multifaceted professional. You may be a sales person by trade, but perhaps you helped organize your non-profit's most recent fundraising event. Noting that experience, and the skills that you learned during that experience ("event planning," "event marketing," etc.) can make you a more attractive employee and business partner."

In addition to adding the volunteer work to your LinkedIn, Krista also advises to add LinkedIn Skills to their profiles if they've truly mastered new ones as a result of those experiences. All you need to do is search for skills here and add them to your profile. Updating your skills will make you come out in more relevant searches when hiring managers, clients, business partners are looking for people like you on the professional networking website.

Here's how to work the new feature:

• Log in to your LinkedIn account.
• Scroll down to where it says, "Add sections to reflect achievements and experiences on your profile" and click on the "Add sections" button.
• You'll see a list of sections to choose from. Click on the "Volunteer Experience and Causes" and fill in details such as the causes you believe in, the organization you donate your time to, and what your volunteer role entails.

Volunteering is an opportunity to chase your passions and to challenge yourself outside of work. Featuring this on your LinkedIn may increase your chances of scoring your dream job, especially if the skills relate to the field. It also makes you a more interesting and diverse candidate. Do you include volunteer work on your résumé?

Offering a great way to see and experience a different culture, a volunteer vacation can be an especially fulfilling way to spend time off. The concept's not for everyone — no four-star hotels or five-course meals — and there's service work involved, making it less of a "break," but it can be an affordable way to travel somewhere exotic and truly experience the other location separate from the confines of any resort. If this sounds up your traveling alley, there are three steps to consider before committing:

• Figure out your cause. Passionate about animals or the environment? Education or children's issues? Something else entirely? No matter the area in which you'd most like to make a difference, research an opportunity that fits it. You'll end up more satisfied if you are working for a true passion rather than picking based on a destination desire. Your duty there is to help, not to rest and relax, so do your homework for a volunteer vacation that fits your interests and location needs!

Learn two more considerations when you read on.

One of the things that I love doing on the weekend is visiting my local SPCA. This is an activity that I definitely recommend to animal lovers who have a shelter near them. Check nationwide shelters like the ASPCA or the Humane Society. They sometimes have free weekend classes to educate people on how to raise puppies, so it's a good idea to participate if you're thinking of getting a dog sometime in the future. I just go to coo at them through the windows and sometimes play with the animals as well.

Furthermore, animals are known to reduce stress, so consider this a healthy activity that will help you take your mind off work and reduce stressors in your life. In fact, a certain ivy league law school even started using a therapy dog to test out the stress reduction theory on students. The dog will be placed in a private area of the Yale Law School library, and students will get the chance to interact with the dog only if they sign up for a time slot. Have your own doggy relaxation time by visiting the SPCA, and who knows, this can possibly lead to opportunities for volunteering at the shelter on the weekend.

Source: Flickr User mbostock