Top 10 Tips on How to Make Like Bono and Volunteer

Sean Penn helps with Haiti, Charlize Theron with violence against women, the American Idols with a food bank, Angelina Jolie with refugees and disaster relief, and Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady with energy conservation. Your family can make a difference, too. Last month a federal Volunteering in America report found that 63.4 million Americans volunteered through a formal organization last year, giving more than 8 billion hours of free service. "People really want to be involved in solving problems," says Robert Rosenthal, a spokesman for VolunteerMatch. Here's how your family can give a little bit (or a little bit more):

1. Hit the web. Check out sites such as volunteeringinamerica.gov, serve.gov, networkforgood.org, dosomething.org and volunteermatch.org. They can help you figure out your interests: the environment, poverty, animal welfare, education, peace or politics. To make it even easier, simply enter your zip code, city or state and words that describe what'd like to do near your neighborhood—or even online.

2. Think local. Your family may feel more connected to helping your own community. Do something tangible. Build a house through Habitat for Humanity. Or pitch in at the closest food bank.

3. Work through your employer—or your college or alma mater. Businesses and colleges can help you get involved with established not-for-profits such as the United Way. If your boss mentions that your company is doing a "day of caring" (volunteering from 9 to 5 instead of doing your regular job), sign up. Instead of sitting at your desk, you may find yourself painting or planting a garden for a battered women's shelter. Some universities, such as Stanford, are setting up days of service for their alumni. If yours hasn't done so, suggest it. Today colleges actively promote volunteering for current students and recent grads. Brenann Stacker, Tufts '10, donates her time to the school's Traveling Treasure Trunk, a theater group that performs in local schools, daycare centers and hospitals.

4. Figure out your passion. Do you like to do needlework? Knit blankets and hats for people in need. Has your hubby always secretly wanted to be a firefighter? Check out volunteerfd.org and contact your local fire department. Warning: allow time for training.

5. Figure out the right fit. Do you prefer working indoors or outdoors? Do you want to hang out with people—or animals? If you like to be surrounded by kids and moms, volunteer with your local PTO. If you love furry creatures, help out at your local animal shelter. To find one in your area, visit aspca.org. Be forewarned: You may be tempted to adopt a homeless kitty or dog (especially if you bring your kids or grandkids with you).

6. Consider age. Your elderly parents may need to be indoors or at least in the shade—so beach cleanups may be hard on them. They may be tough on toddlers, too. Avoid pressuring little ones into cleaning up your local shore for hours on end if they don't want to. "Volunteer work is by definition an effort which comes from the heart," says child psychiatrist Elizabeth Berger, author of Raising Kids with Character. "Encouraging a child to become virtuous cannot be forced or enticed." Give little ones a short, easily understood task, such as making cards for soldiers. Go the homemade route—or write a message through Xerox's pre-paid postcards-for-the-troops program. Volunteer work becomes more meaningful in adolescence. "The teenager who wants to save the world is a person who acts sincerely from within," says Berger.

7. Be a good role model. "A great deal of a youngster's desire to help strangers will reflect the youngster's identification with parents who themselves have been, all along, concerned and helpful citizens," says Berger. "So parents who are devoted to causes outside of themselves—political or religious or social movements which help strangers—are likely to raise children who see 'helping' as a natural part of adult living." Volunteer for good causes and invite the child to participate in small ways, she says. "The parent can write a letter for a cause and ask the small child to lick the stamp—providing an explanation for how the child has helped.'"

8. Vet your charity. Go with an established group—or see if employees know what they're doing. You might even see if any of them are officially certified in volunteer administration (though it's hardly a deal breaker).

9. Start small—and gradually do more. Any volunteer effort gets kudos. But the longer you do it, the better—for you and for your cause. "Personal change and personal growth is more likely with longer-term commitment," says Rosenthal. Be honest with yourself and your charity about your availability and your skills—and don't over promise. To make that easier, start small.

10. Be considerate. If you said you would show up with 12 people, don't appear with two—and vice versa. "It's really about being considerate, just like on any job," says Rosenthal. Maybe you lack the time to spend hours volunteering. But you can still donate your compost pile to a community garden.

Sign up—and smile.

For more about parenting and relationships, read:

It's Possible to be a 'Good' Stage Parent

How to Raise Kids Who Care: Here's to a 'We' Generation

Should You 'Fess Up to Your Teens about any Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll in Your Past?

'Popular' Kids: Handling the Teen Caste System

How to Make Like Bono and Volunteer