Whether you're counting porpoises in British Columbia, recording oral histories in Africa or rocking babies at a day care centre in Peru, volunteer vacations let you help build a community, feed your brain and have a whole lot of fun to boot.

Nancy Helstab has danced in the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras and savoured five-course meals on a Tuscan wine-tasting tour. And she's also been to Lima, Peru, to work in a shantytown daycare and to care for disabled children. Not all vacations involve baking on the beach or snapping pictures of landmarks--Helstab's trip to Peru was a "volunteer vacation." The idea is simple: you volunteer to help a charitable organization in another part of Canada or around the world by lending your time, your skills and often your muscle, all within a concentrated chunk of time, whether it's a few days or a few weeks. Call it travel with a purpose.

Helstab, 40, who runs her own marketing consulting practice in Toronto, chose one of the packages offered by a US-based organization called Cross-Cultural Solutions. "I wanted to do something that helped kids, in a country I was curious about," she explains. So last March, she and her friend Lisa left children and careers behind and flew to Lima for one week of travel (which they organized themselves) and one week of volunteering. The experience had a profound effect on her: "These are very poor people, but you see their pride and how hard they're working, and you want to contribute to that." Helstab's volunteering didn't end in Peru. "When I came back home I just had to continue. It shocked me; I didn't expect this change in my life!" She's now volunteering with two Toronto charities, the Catholic Children's Aid Society and Teresa Group, which helps children living with HIV/AIDS.

Would a volunteer vacation work for you? It's best to do your homework. You'll need to ask questions to make sure you're comfortable with the work schedule, terrain, climate, number of participants, accommodation and lack of Big Macs. Ask the organization about the project leader's experience and how the trip will be organized. Check on travel and medical insurance--is it included in the price of the trip, or will you need additional coverage? Consult the organization and your financial advisor to see if any expenses are tax-deductible (Tax laws that apply to American organizations won't apply to you.) If costs are a concern, your company or place of worship may be able help out, or ask the organization if they can suggest approaches to fundraising. Organizations report that many of their volunteers come solo, and you don't have to get a group together to participate in the program.

Here are four cool volunteer vacations to consider:

Reach out
Cross-Cultural Solutions
How it works Go grassroots and give some hands-on help to a community in need. Groups of two or three people take part in ongoing projects, whether it's teaching English in rural China, sharing business skills in Ghana or assisting in HIV/AIDS education and outreach in Thailand, all under the guidance of a local expert. Rest assured you're not swooping in as Lady Bountiful to impose Western ways. Rather, Cross-Cultural Solutions believes the local people know how best to help the community, and assists them accordingly. Expect to work an 8 or 9 hour day, with your evenings and weekends free to soak up the local atmosphere and explore the area. You'll stay at a modest, clean local hotel or with other volunteers at a house maintained by the organization.
Where? China, Costa Rica, Ghana, Peru, Russia and Thailand (At press time, programs in India were temporarily halted due to unrest in the region.)
How long? one week to six months, year round
How much? US55 and up, plus airfare. Includes meals, accommodation and transportation from meeting site to project site
Can the kids come? Generally, children aged 8-13 may accompany a parent but may not volunteer; young people aged 14 and 15 can volunteer under parental guidance. Some countries' programs have a minimum age of 16
Learn more www.volunteerworkabroad.org, 1/800-380-4777

Farm fresh
Willing Workers on Organic Farms Canada (WWOOF Canada)
How it works Get in touch with your inner Farm Girl and pitch in at an organic farm. You work in exchange for your room and board: care for livestock like ducks or goats, tend bees, grow and gather organic veggies, fruit and berries, or learn about medicinal herbs or how to weave. Some farms are prepared to host families with young children, while others are women-only or offer all-vegetarian meals. You may be staying with your hosts in a 170-year-old farmhouse or enjoying your own timber frame cabin. Most farm families expect you to help out around 6 hours a day. In your free time, you can relax on your own or join your hosts in range of activities--some properties have a lake, yoga classes, tennis court, even a 9-hole golf course.
Where? every province in Canada, plus the Yukon. There are also WWOOF organizations in the United States, Europe (including Portugal, Italy and France) , Australia, Africa (Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast) and Korea
How long? one week up to several months, generally April to November
How much? Free, plus transportation to the farm and a annual membership.
Can the kids come? Consult your host family
Learn more www.wwoofusa.com/canada or write to WWOOF Canada, RR#2, S. 18, C.9, Nelson, BC, V1L 5P5

Wet and wild
Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS)
How it works This ain't your regular whale-watching trip. MICS is a non-profit research organization that has been conducting ecological studies in the Gulf of St Lawrence for more than 20 years. During the summer, small groups of volunteers, along with scientists, head out to for a day on the water in 7m (24 foot) boats. There, volunteers help study blue whale, fin and humpback whales by observing and recording data about behaviour and location, up close and personal. Bring binoculars: there's a wealth of other marine life, including porpoises, dolphins, seals and sea birds. Similar research takes place in the Sea of Cortez, between the Baja Peninsula and Mexico, where the mama blue whales and calves spend the winter. You'll stay in a local hotel or B&B. When you're not working, you can birdwatch, hike, and take in the local scenery in Quebec, or snorkel or visit a historic mission in Mexico. MICS also has day trips () in the Mingan Archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Where? north shore of Quebec in the Gulf of St Lawrence; Baja California, Mexico
How long? one to two weeks, June-October for Gulf of St. Lawrence sessions, February and March for Mexico sessions
How much? 90 and up, plus transportation to the meeting site. Includes accommodation and meals
Can the kids come? age 14 and up
Learn more www.rorqual.com, 418/949-2845

Mothering Earth
Earthwatch
How it works We've got a big, fascinating planet to call home, and Earthwatch, an environmental organization, can help you explore a corner of it. Groups of four to 15 volunteers take part in a real, working field research expedition, led by scientists. Want to study giraffes and elephants in Namibia? Learn how to make natural dyes in southeastern Manitoba? Excavate a medieval Irish village? There are dozens of projects on the go in 55 countries around the world. Accommodations vary tremendously, depending on the project. You may be snoozing in a hammock on an Amazon riverboat or enjoying hot showers, a pool and air conditioning at a Thai hotel. There's also a wide range of downtime activities--anything from hiking in Yellowstone National Park to feasting at the local restaurant. Some expedition leaders offer presentations on past and current research in the evenings.
Where? every continent except Antarctica
How long? one week to one month
How much? US0 and up, plus transportation to meeting site. Includes accommodation, meals, and transportation from meeting site to project site.
Can the kids come? age 16 and up
Learn more www.earthwatch.org, 1/800-776-0188



sidebar:
There are hundreds of volunteer vacations out there. Find the perfect one for you:

Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures that will Benefit You and Others (Chicago Review Press) by Edward Asner and Bill McMillon

Get Outside!: A Guide to Volunteer Opportunities and Working Vacations in America's Great Outdoors (Globe Pequot Press) by the American Hiking Society

www.volunteerinternational.org Search the web for international volunteer opportunities, check out different organizations and get answers to frequently asked questions

www.habitat.ca, 800/667-5137 Help build a house for a low-income family in Canada, the United States or abroad with Habitat for Humanity

www.tyrrellmuseum.com/programs, 888/440-4290 Go dig in the dirt for a day or a week in search of dinosaur fossils with Alberta's renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

www.taketothehills.org, 619/226-8256 Go really, really off-road and take part in a caravan of 4x4 and sport utility vehicles that deliver supplies to remote villages in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains

www.voyage.gc.ca For official travel reports on security and safety abroad, visit the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and click on "Foreign Destinations"