Volunteering can be a great way to gain school credit, job experience and serious satisfaction.

Before you decide to volunteer though, it's important to decide on the kind of volunteer experience you would like. Think about things like:

• If you could do anything, what's the first issue that you would work on?
• How much time can you commit?
• Do you like to work by yourself or with other people?
• What are your special skills that you could offer? Do you have skills that you particularly want to acquire?

Once you've thought about these questions, then you should have a pretty good idea about the kind of volunteering opportunity you'd enjoy. Now you're ready to find a group to volunteer with, and one of the best places to start is with your local volunteer center. www.volunteer.ca has listings for every volunteer centre across Canada, as well as a volunteer registration database and a really good question and answer page about becoming a volunteer.

There are also national and international volunteer events that are even bigger ways to get involved:
Global Youth Service Day is the largest youth-led volunteering event in the world, and it happens on April 15-17, 2005. You or your school can get involved, let them know what you're up to, and get grants for your projects and even win fantastic prizes.

International Volunteer Day is another global day to celebrate volunteers. The World Volunteer Web has a website filled with international volunteer opportunities, initiatives and project ideas. Check it out and see the cool things happening across the world.