1. Your children's school- A great way to volunteer and spend more time with your children at the same time is to volunteer in their classrooms or at their school.

2. Homeless shelters- Homeless shelters need as many extra hands as they can get. It doesn't take more than a couple of hours each night you can to help feed dozens to hundreds of homeless. Read the 35 ways to help the homeless for more ideas on helping the less unfortunate in your town.

3. Park Maintenance- Our parks are some of the last open places some of us have. Keeping them beautiful and safe for our children needs to be a high priority. Volunteer a few hours a week or month and help clean up your area parks.

4. Read at the library- Your child may be a terrific reader, but they were lucky you took the time to teach them one of the most important skills a person could ever have. Take your children to the library during volunteer reading hours and help some children learn about the wonders of reading.

5. Mentoring- Big Brothers & Sisters is a fantastic organization that helps children without fathers, mothers or older siblings learn about the world in a responsible, loving way. I've personally been a Big Brother and can't describe how good it feels to be a mentor in this program.

6. Animal support- Local animal shelters and humane societies are notoriously shorthanded and can use all the help they can get in tagging, feeding, grooming and nurturing animals. Check out these 80 tips to help animals for more ideas.

7. Senior homes- Senior homes can use some extra help in entertaining their residents and serving food. Play games with some elderly folks and let them tell you of times past. Not only will you be doing a good deed, you are bound to learn some very important lessons.

8. Blood banks- One of the fastest ways to volunteer your time is to go give blood. Blood is the most precious resource we have in our communities and helps save more lives than any other volunteering action. Visit Give Life for more information.

9. 800 Number Volunteers- We often take 800 and disaster relief numbers for granted. They must be manned at all hours of the day, and in the event of a disaster, will likely need more volunteers than the organization has on hand. Give some spare time to a 800 phone bank in your area and you just may save a life.

10. Politics- With the political season in full swing, there are many opportunities for you to give some of your time to help gather signatures, pass out fliers and buttons and get the word out about the politician you support.">