Go the Distance

If you're up for more than a volunteer vacation, try two years with the Peace Corps. From teaching marketing in Romania to math in South Africa, the Peace Corps allows you to learn new skills and use your talents in challenging settings. Roughly 7 percent of Peace Corps volunteers are 50 and over (800-424-8580; www.peacecorps.gov).

[Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]

Take a Vacation

Before you make a career change, try working in the field as a volunteer (www.aarp.org/makeadifference/volunteer).
------
VolunteerMatch lists thousands of nonprofit groups seeking volunteers (http://www.volunteermatch.org/).
------
Volunteers of America organizes service trips in national parks and forests (http://www.voa.org/).
------
Minnesota-based Global Volunteers arranges assignments for social and economic development projects throughout the world
(800-487-1074; http://www.globalvolunteers.org/).
------
Volunteer Vacations (Chicago Review Press, 1999), by Bill McMillon, contains profiles of nearly 300 organizations that sponsor volunteer travel opportunities. [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]