I have to laugh at the current advice I see rattling through the MSNosphere. Volunteer if you have been downsized! Volunteer to keep your resume active! Volunteer now that you cannot pay your mortgage! Idle hands may be the devil's playground, but I think that this kind of suggestion is ridiculous coming from these kinds of sunshine-out-my-rear career-advice info columns. Just my opinion. That said, I encourage volunteering because that is how you get to know your community. You know, those people that you live near that are pretty much in the same boat as you? You know, those people whom you hope will stand beside you in times of adversity as well as in a time of joy. Plus, if you have kids, it is a way to actively promote involvement in the real social activities of real people. Plus, you can often get a barter thing going when you work for "insert item of need here" instead of money. I personally am hoping I can trade some web tinkering for a massage.