'Voluntourism' on the rise - CNN.com <-- Check it out.

Wouldn't you feel a little more refreshed if you only spent 2 days of your vacation hanging out on the beach, and the rest doing some good 'ol fashioned volunteer work? Your brain may need a few days of blissful inactivity, and that's fine, but your soul is rejuvinated by the benevolent activity of doing good deeds. Trust us.

There are all kinds of organizations and programs that take caring go-getters like yourselves and put them to work on Volunteer Trips (or 'Service Vacations', or whatever - there's a lot of new vocab being tossed around this concept). An obvious and semi-local (i.e. in the United States) destination would be the Gulf Coast. Even a year and a half later, this region is still struggling to recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and they could use volunteers.

Check out our webpage on how to contact Hands On New Orleans and Hands On Gulf Coast. They will feed you, clothe you, and put you to work. Rejuvinate that soul!

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Lastly - this is what happens when you come to work on your birthday.

You get a visit from Birthday Dog Hat.

Happy 25th, Jessica!

Beneath the goofy hat and coppery mane is a dynamo of community engagement!