Are you kidding? Why are you telling me to sign up for a vacation that isn't a vacation, but just a tough job helping other people, strangers I don’t even know? Doggone it! I'm entitled to bask at the shore, toss dice in Vegas, sip vino in Tuscany or dine at an outdoor Paris cafe. Who knows? With the economy and the job market the way it is, maybe it'll be my last chance for years to enjoy a vacation. I haven’t worked all these years so that I can use my valuable time off to sweat for some strangers.

If that's the way you feel about signing up for a community service trip, maybe it’s because you're not really familiar with them. Actually, all you have to do is make a slight, but significant change in one of your future travel plans. Then, you can do something as enjoyable and satisfying as a fun vacation, while at the same time earn the great satisfaction of knowing you're doing something useful for others.

Remember what President John F. Kennedy said many years ago, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". If you truly believe in that theme, would it be so bad to give up some of your vacation time, labor and skills where they're needed? And in some cases, desperately needed?

In America and other parts of the world, there are service projects you may find appealing and challenging. They include repairing homes in poverty areas, after-disaster clean-up, archaeology digs, teaching, nursing, ecology, protecting endangered species, working with kids and hundreds of other projects where your enthusiasm and skills make it worth spending your free time in positive ways.

In some, living expenses are provided; in others, volunteers may be required to pay a token fee or other charges. While most of the projects accept both young and senior volunteers, some are geared specifically to the physical and age limits of participating volunteers.

For instance, many older volunteers wouldn't be comfortable climbing and hammering on Habitat for Humanity home-rebuilding projects (maybe with ex-President Jimmy Carter). However, they'd be physically able to contribute their experience and wisdom for accompanying a class of inner-city pre-schoolers to the city zoo.

How do you sign up for volunteer vacations? Check the many sites on the internet, and additionally find out if your church, synagogue, school or professional organization is planning a project that fits in with your schedule.

Contact local branches of familiar community agencies, such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and investigate their ongoing projects geared for vacationer time slots. Government agencies, such as the Department of the Interior, Army Corps of Engineers and invidual national and state parks welcome volunteers for summer terms of service in some of the most beautiful areas of the country.

Many private, non-profit organizations offer volunteer vacations that range from just a few days on a specific task, to weeks and months on long-term projects. An example is Earthwatch (Earthwatch Institute, 3 Clock Tower Place, P.O. Box 75, Maynard, MA 01754-0075; (800) 776-0081, www.earthwatch.org)

This worldwide volunteer enterprise has more than a hundred individual projects in 18 states and 44 countries. Some of its activities include archaeological digs, improving world health, preserving rare animal habitats and protecting oceans from pollution.

Another is Global Volunteers (Global Volunteers, 375 E. Little Canada Road, St. Paul, MN 55117-1628; (800) 487-1074, www.globalvolunteers.org) This non-profit organization also offers more than a hundred programs throughout the world, involving volunteer service at schools in impovershed neighborhoods, as well as help in medical and social services in areas where it is poor or non-existent.

Whatever your choice in making your next vacation a volunteer one, you can be sure you'll return home with pride and satisfaction that you've done something meaningful to help others ... and yourself.