when selecting charitable organizations that you may want to donate to, remember to think about if you want to volunteer. keep in mind these issues:

location: how are you going to get there? car, bus, train, walk? will it cost you money to get there? is there parking available? how close is it to public transportation?

opportunity: check with the organization and look at their website to see if there are volunteer opportunites available. do they need volunteers? does the organization provide the type of volunteer opportunities that you are interested or are you willing to do whatever work they need help with?

time: can you only volunteer during weeknights or weekend hours? how much time do you have to volunteer, some charities can be very specific about the time commitments, make sure you and the charity match.

length: check to see if there are any restrictions on how long you need to volunteer. some organizations require long commitments of a year, whereas other organizations will take your help for a day, week, or a month.

For help on finding volunteer opportunities check: Boston Cares, Idealist, or Volunteer Match.