If you’ve been thinking about volunteering to support the environment or to lend a hand on other important issues in your community, why wait? Besides advancing a cause you believe in and contributing to the health and vitality of the place where you live—both the planet and your neighborhood—you may reap a lot of personal benefits from the time you invest as a volunteer.

_{Photo courtesy of Mary R. Vogt}

By volunteering your time, you can share your skills and gain new ones, meet new people, enhance your resume and broaden your professional network, experience something new, and much more. But how do you begin?

Sharon O’Brien, your Guide to Senior Living, offers a look at the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency created to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their country. The organization manages many different volunteer programs that match volunteers to current needs in hundreds of communities nationwide.

One such program is Senior Corps, which matches people over 55 with community projects and organizations that need experienced volunteer help. Started during the Kennedy administration, Senior Corps provides training and guidance for more than 500,000 volunteers nationwide, and gives volunteers the opportunity to choose specific projects that suit their interests, talents, experience and availability.

“Find a need and fill it,” is a time-tested formula for success in business. It’s the same in life. So if you’re feeling the urge to contribute more to your community, make this your year to volunteer.