How You Can Make A Difference To Remake America And The World.

So, you've been inspired and you want to save the world, but you're broke and you've only got a couple of hours a week to spare. Or, maybe you want to get involved full-time and/or you have tons of money to donate. No matter your circumstances, where do you start?

Just stop and take a deep breath. You can't be very effective if you try to take on too much. Billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates can't support every cause. Even saintly types like Mother Theresa and Gandhi focused their energy on one issue. The first thing you need to decide is what cause you want to support with your time, talents or money.

As in anything that you choose to spend your valuable time or money on, the advice is the same: choose something that you are passionate about; choose an area to which you feel a connection. Not only will you be more apt to stick with it, but you will be more likely to give it your best efforts. It could be in an area where you have some knowledge or talents. Or, you might want to learn something new or make a change in yourself. In that case, look for some area that will challenge you in someway. Just remember, the key is that you choose an area that you feel passionate about.

Now that you have decided which cause you want to support, you have another decision to make. The second step is to decide how you want to help your cause. There are several ways you can get involved and several levels of involvement.

The first and easiest way is to donate money. You don't have to donate a large amount. There are many organizations doing wonderful work that could use anything you can give. In some cases, you can even give goods. It is best to check with the organization to find out what their needs are. If you are not familiar with a charitable organization, it is a good idea to do some research to find out if it is worthy of your support. A good website where you can check on a charity is charitynavigator.org.

Perhaps, you really want a more hands-on experience. Obviously you will have a greater level of involvement if you volunteer to do some of the actual work for your cause. This can range from sending out mailings or making phone calls to work that requires a high level of skill.

There are a couple of other ways you can make a difference for a cause. One is to be an advocate. As an advocate you learn as much as you can about your cause so that you can teach and involve others through talking, writing articles, holding events and more. Another way to help is to do fundraising.

An excellent site to check for more information on how to get involved is this Peace Corps site. It is oriented towards teens, but the information is useful for anyone.

For many people, it is most convenient to help out in your own community. Often, it is in your own hometown that you can readily see the needs.

Maybe you have a child in school and you know that the teachers need help from parents who have time during the school hours. Or, you might be a book lover who visits the local library often. Public libraries are often looking for volunteers. Animal lovers might volunteer at a local shelter.

First, you need to decide the type of organization in which you would like to volunteer. There are a variety of nonprofit organizations serving different groups such as animals, children, the elderly, the disabled and many more. Also, local government offices, such as libraries, law enforcement agencies and courts, use the services of volunteers.

Next, figure out what type of volunteer activity you would like to do. No matter your abilities, there are a broad range of opportunities. You might help answer the phones at a fundraising telethon, or maybe you have the skills to organize a fundraising event. You could tutor a child in reading or math, or be a mentor to a teenager. Maybe you would like to help build a home for a low-income family, or serve meals at a homeless shelter. The opportunities to serve are practically endless.

Search the internet or your local phone book to find out if there is a volunteer center in your area. Volunteer centers connect nonprofit organizations to volunteers. They usually maintain a database
of volunteer opportunities.

Check the Points of Light Foundation's website for a directory of volunteer centers listed by state. Some local newspapers list local volunteer opportunities.

Another resource is Hands on Network. It is a national organization that coordinates community service and volunteer projects throughout the United States. Look on the Hands on Network website to see if there is a local branch in your area.

Volunteer Match has a website that allows you to search for volunteer opportunities in your area by zip code of type of volunteer project.

Contact your city, county or state government offices for government opportunities. Check their website for a volunteer section. If there is none, call the main office.

Answerbag.com has these additional tips for volunteers:

* The time commitment required to volunteer varies widely. Some opportunities are a one-time project that lasts for just a few hours. Some opportunities require a weekly or monthly commitment of a certain number of hours.

* After you locate a volunteer opportunity, speak with the agency's volunteer coordinator to learn all the details about the project before you commit to volunteering.

We all want peace in our lives and in the world. We all want to be loved and to be healed. We want to see change for the better. Change happens one person at a time. In order to see more peace, more love, more tolerance, more understanding, more healing and more positive change, we have to be those qualities. Whether through prayer, meditation, deep soul-searching or other means, we need to find those qualities in our own hearts and take action to express them to others. In that way, person by person, the world will change.