"You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give." The quotation is often ascribed to the great British statesman Winston Churchill.

Whether he said it or not there could hardly be a greater inspiration to give one’s time, energy and effort for the good of others? This is the idea behind volunteering. Now volunteering vacations are taking off in a big way. According to a recent survey more people than ever are planning to give up some of their precious hard earned time off from work by taking part in a dizzying array of projects in all four corners of the world.

The opportunities are endless. Volunteers can be found undertaking grueling construction work, helping scientists on expeditions, rehabilitating animals into the wild, teaching children and assisting in health centres. As a result they gain valuable insights into local cultures, promote tolerance and encourage understanding and personal development. Meanwhile communities benefit in countless ways.

Often volunteers are students, while growing numbers are older and taking part during career breaks. Others are post-retirement. Whatever their age many find the experience life changing. Maybe because they learn new skills, develop new interests or use the spell away from the daily grind as a chance to reassess their core values.

It is possible to volunteer wherever you like and for as long or as short a period as you like, from a few days to several months. Often the volunteer must pay for the privilege and the cost can vary considerably – from a hundreds to thousands of pounds or dollars, often excluding travel and insurance.

With so many types of work, so many locations and such an abundance of organisations offering to arrange placements the problem for the volunteer is how to choose between them.

From the outset would-be volunteers should ask themselves a few straight questions. Vital qualities for success are patience, flexibility, tolerance and a willingness to learn. So for instance, are they sufficiently open to another culture, however different from their own? Are they willing to put up without modern conveniences such as a comfortable bed or plumbing? Or do they insist on creature comforts? Whatever the answers, it is up to each volunteer to make a suitable choice.

It is also essential before booking to find out from the organiser exactly what the work is to be. Are special skills required. Does the project have substance? Is there back-up on site? Is the project run in conjunction with local people? To be meaningful it should be.

Then there is the question of money. How much will it cost and what does the fee cover? Does it seem value for money? Some volunteering organisations are run as businesses, others are charities and still more are NGOs (non-government organizations). The prices they charge for arranging placements vary considerably.

It is also useful to discover the first-hand experiences of previous volunteers on the project. There are many stirring stories. “I have learned to appreciate a different point of view and be grateful for what I have” says one, “I made friends for life” says a second, while yet another declares “it opened my eyes to the world”. Unfortunately there are also some unforeseen problems and horror stories: “I was dumped in the middle of nowhere with no idea what I was supposed to be doing” and “a total shambles”.

At the end of the day for it to count volunteering is about more than just traveling the world but rather making a personal journey. As Gandhi said, "the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."