If you’re lucky enough to have some extra time on your hands, it’s likely you’ve thought about volunteering- not only do others reap the benefit of your support but you’re likely to experience some positive benefits yourself. The question then becomes how to find the volunteer experience best suited for your interests and availability.

Over at Satisfying Retirement, bloggist Bob Lowry has recently put together a list of criteria to consider when determining what kind of volunteer commitment you should make. Beyond the obvious one of working on an issue that you feel passionate about, you need to think about the sort of commitment you are making, the kinds of skills required, what you’ll be giving up as a result and even whether you can easily drop out if you find it’s not right for you. Take a look at his recommendations here. And while there’s plenty more that organizations can do to accommodate older volunteers and make them feel more welcome, there are also plenty of entities that specifically recruit and encourage older people to step up and join in. So, for example, check out Senior Corps or take a look at this list of organizations welcoming older volunteers on Retired Brains. And if you’re looking to do good, and also to do well for yourself, think about the opportunity to get some free travel in Europe by teaching conversational English to eager foreigners. Whatever you do, you’ll do well by doing good.