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By Heather R. Taylor
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, March 14, 2002; Page C10

"How can I help?," certainly one of the most frequently asked questions since Sept. 11, also appears to reflect an overall trend. According to the most recent survey on giving and volunteering conducted by the nonprofit group Independent Sector, more than 109 million people volunteered in 1998, compared with 93 million just three years earlier. And with the president's call for voluntary service in his State of the Union address, the numbers may rise even higher.

Surf the Internet and you'll quickly discover three Web sites devoted to volunteerism:

• Volunteerconnections.org is operated by the Points of Light Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Washington, with a mission to help solve community problems through voluntarism. In conjunction with 500 volunteer centers around the country, it links volunteers with nonprofit and public sector organizations. Volunteers enter a Zip code or indicate the geographic area in which they'd like to work.

Next comes a review of volunteer centers. Once one is selected, contact can be made by e-mail or phone. Alternatively, volunteers can call 800-VOLUNTEER (800-865-8683) to register.

• At NetworkforGood.org and VolunteerMatch.org, applicants follow a similar procedure. A series of color-coded symbols identify opportunities appropriate for kids, teens, seniors or groups.

City, state and nationwide outreach campaigns identify a whole host of volunteer opportunities. Last month, Greater DC Cares promoted voluntarism through a week-long "Holiday of Service" in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. On Valentine's Day WAMU-FM launched its 14th annual "Heart 2 Heart" campaign, designed to promote year-round voluntarism in the Washington area. The station was joined by a coalition of 11 metro-area volunteer centers that are members of the Points of Light network, with each center hosting an open house. The Montgomery County Volunteer Center showcased its Weekend/Evening Volunteer Program, a monthly calendar of 20 opportunities, as well as short-term volunteer projects and family volunteering programs. The center also houses a "Language Bank," where volunteers with the appropriate skills are invited to help people with limited English proficiency. In addition, the center has developed a registry of health care professionals equipped to assist in the event of a bioterror attack.

Once you are ready to offer your services, volunteer leaders recommend first making a few important decisions.

"Decide what you like to do, how much time you have to offer and where you'd like to volunteer," says Kimberli Meadows, director of media relations at the Points of Light Foundation. Starting small, for example opting to volunteer just a few hours, can help determine whether a particular position is the right match for you.

"What interests you? What about the world do you want to change? When you find that mission, then go to work on it," says Phil Borden, volunteer coordinator of the Capital Area Food Bank. The bank distributes millions of pounds of food and educates the community about hunger, poverty and nutrition issues. Hundreds of volunteers sort and repackage food, prepare mailings, assist with education programs, help staff special events, and plant and harvest vegetables on an Upper Marlboro farm.

Interest and enthusiasm notwithstanding, given the hectic schedules of so many Washington area residents, time may pose the greatest challenge to volunteering. Juliet Orzal, director of volunteers at Martha's Table, which feeds the poor and homeless, advises to "incorporate it into your schedule." Martha's Table and other nonprofits offer great flexibility: A parent who wants to volunteer can bring her family in to help prepare meals, for example.

Families with older teens can help out with McKenna's Wagons, two mobile kitchens serving food to the needy each day. Services also include an after-school care and tutoring program, computer literacy training, day care, a laundry, health education office and clothing distribution center.

At Food & Friends, a local nonprofit group that delivers meals and groceries to approximately 1,400 people with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses, a flexible schedule enables volunteers to begin as early as 6:30 a.m., helping chefs prepare meals. Other volunteers work midday, while an evening crew operates from 5 to 7:30.

The critical role played by volunteers can't be overstated, according to Food & Friends development director Suzanne McMahon. "This isn't about what Food & Friends needs. It's about the people who are receiving this critically important service. It's important for Food & Friends to remind people about what a difference they're making."

A relatively new position provides extreme flexibility: the "cyber" or "virtual" volunteer. With access to a computer, volunteers don't even have to travel. That access fuels the work of groups like NetMentors.org, which provides online career development for teens. "One advantage to e-mentoring is that mentors are not required to be in a certain place at a certain time," says executive director James Green. Students can log in, select a variety of careers and submit questions about them to NetMentors staff. In turn, NetMentors draws on its database, and forwards students' questions to mentors in that field.

The chance to work on behalf of the issues that we care most about is what beckons many to volunteer. At the Cultural Alliance of Washington, a Business Volunteers for the Arts program matches professionals to organizations in need of people with strong financial skills, says coordinator Eileen Rappoport. Volunteers serve as temporary staff, performing pro bono consulting work in areas such as strategic planning, marketing and financial planning.

For House Education Committee counsel Cheryl Johnson, juvenile justice issues motivated her recent application to serve on the Montgomery County Juvenile Justice Commission. "We've been successful in having juvenile court move from district court to family court," says Johnson. "That means that you have people with more expertise dealing with juveniles and assessing them more effectively." For Johnson, there's an important connection between volunteering and the community. "The community . . . enjoys a better quality of life [as a result of volunteers], because fewer resources are taken from local revenues."

Talk with local writer and editor Mandy Katz, and you'll find yourself using the term "consummate volunteer." Even before the arrival of their three children, volunteering was a part of her life. She and her husband tutored adults and prepared meals for residents at Joshua House and Leland Place, two transitional housing programs for people recovering from substance abuse.

Nowadays, as Katz's schedule has become more kid-centered, volunteering mostly involves work at her children's school. She also collaborates with neighbors to help an ill parent with family duties such as preparing meals, driving to medical appointments and helping with homework. Once a month, Katz and her neighbors help prepare about 40 casseroles that are delivered to So Others Might Eat, a nonprofit serving the poor and homeless in the District. The nuns who live across the street know they can call on Katz for a ride downtown to distribute food to the homeless.

"It's a matter of giving back," Katz says. "I like to feel like I'm in a caring community. If I am, I feel as though I need to care for others."

Capital Area Foodbank: www.capitalareafoodbank.org; 202-526-5344

Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington: www.cultural-alliance.org; 202-638-2406

Greater DC Cares: www.dc-cares.org; 202-289-7378

Food & Friends: www.foodandfriends.org; 202-488-8278

Martha's Table: www.marthastable.org; 202-328-6608

Points of Light Foundation: www.pointsoflight.org; 800-865-8683 or 202-729-8000

So Others Might Eat (SOME): www.some.org; 202-797-8806

VolunteerConnections: www.Volunteerconnections.org

Network for Good: www.NetworkforGood.org

VolunteerMatch: www.VolunteerMatch.org

NetMentors: www.NetMentors.org