You don't have to look far to find reasons to serve.

    Here's some advice about what sparks ignite the spirit to help others from the book "Be the Change! Change the World. Change Yourself." (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $14.95), straight from people who've done it:
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    "All community service work is a mechanism for something else. I travel with a band of students who play at international fund-raisers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It's a really high-level jazz band, and they have all these honors. So what? It's not about the music and, really, it's not even just about the sick kids. The most important thing about this project is that we're teaching these students about humanity, about other cultures. We are showing them that the world does not revolve around Fort Lauderdale, that there is a huge world out there. And that's a big deal."
    _ Danny Lieberman, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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    "When I was in sixth grade, my teacher stayed after school every day with a group of us to teach us algebra. We lived in a poor neighborhood, with few healthy options for entertaining ourselves. His influence and confidence made such a difference in my development. I want to return that kindness to another generation."
    _ Trinette Marquis, Sacramento, Calif.
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    "I came here from Kenya in 1995 to attend college. I remember reading in the local newspaper about an 11-year-old who had shot someone. I couldn't believe that an 11-year-old had a gun, let alone had shot someone! I thought that I should do something to help. So I began volunteering at the Boys & Girls Clubs, helping kids with their homework."
    _ Erastus Mong'are, Newark, Del.
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    "I was led to serve others when I was laid off from my job as a flight attendant. It was a job I deeply loved and I was distraught over having lost it. I thought that volunteering would help me overcome my feelings of self-pity. Focusing my energy on serving others not only gave me a purpose in life at a time when I felt I had none, it helped me to see that my situation wasn't as bad as it seemed and that I was truly blessed."
    _ Laurie Ritterbach, Pittsburgh, Pa.
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    "When I was 12, I nearly bled to death from uterine polyps. Since it took so long for them to realize what was wrong, I needed four units of blood_about half the blood I should have had in my system_to pull through. If four people had not donated their blood, I wouldn't have lived to be 13. Today I am 28, and while I cannot donate blood myself, volunteering with the Long Island Blood Services is a way to give back. I believe that making donors as comfortable as possible now might keep them donating later."
    _Rebecca Gillman, East Meadow, N.Y.
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    "I volunteer as a tribute to my grandmother. She loved to volunteer! She would dress up like a clown with a wig and a big nose and go to the hospital to make the kids there laugh. She passed away last June. I wanted to keep her spirit alive, and volunteering really helped me cope with her death."
    _ Heather Alexakis, Forest Hills, N.Y.
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    Hundreds of Heads Books' survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through life's biggest challenges and have insight to share.
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    (c) 2007, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.