Book lists where you can volunteer while vacationing

CHICAGO -- How does this sound for your next vacation: Shoveling mud, painting a wall, rocking an infant.

No, this is not about using your precious time off from work for home-improvement projects or baby-sitting. These are some of the tasks you might do on a volunteer vacation.

The newest edition of "Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others," by Bill McMillion, Doug Cutchins, and Anne Geissinger, lists about 150 organizations that sponsor volunteers around the world. They range from the American Hiking Society, one of several groups that helps maintain parks and trails, to World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, in which farmers will teach you organic growing techniques in exchange for your labor.

Some organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, are world-renowned and sponsor thousands of volunteers. Others, like the Asociacion de Rescate de Fauna, which seeks veterinarians or veterinary students to work on animal conservation in Venezuela, sponsor just a handful of volunteers with specific skills. There are groups for wildlife-lovers who have the patience to walk miles looking for signs of rare animals; classrooms in other countries that need English teachers; and orphanages where extra help is always welcome.

Listings are indexed by location, duration and type of work. Detailed descriptions, contact information and some testimonials are provided.

The book also lists questions for you to ask before signing up to make sure your volunteer vacation is a good fit, including how your age and background compares to the average volunteer at the organization; what living conditions will be like; and whether your values mesh with the goals of the project, which may have a political or religious philosophy or may be designed to promote a cause.