A remedy for loneliness: I just moved to a new city and don't know anyone here. What can I do to get more involved in my community and feel less isolated?

Shape, Sept, 2004 by Annie Murphy Paul

Q I recently moved to a new city and am feeling kind of lonely. The idea of getting involved in community service is appealing, but how do I know what volunteer activities I'd enjoy and be good at? Where can I find individuals or agencies that could use my help?

A The first place to begin thinking about volunteer activities is with the job you're paid to do, says Norah Peters-Davis, Ph.D., a sociologist and community-service expert at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. "You need to decide whether you want to contribute the skills you've honed in your career or whether you'd like volunteering to provide a break from what you do 9-to-5," Peters-Davis says.

If your day job involves managing money, for example, you might volunteer to help organize the finances of a nonprofit--or you might plunge into something totally different, like painting murals with school kids or spading soil in a community garden. Either way, Peters-Davis advises, choose activities that engage your interests and abilities, work-related or not. "If you hate to sweat, you won't be happy building houses for the homeless, and if you're a people person, you probably shouldn't be stuffing envelopes," she notes.

These days, the Web is often the best place to begin your search: Sites like volunteermatch.org, idealist.org and servenet.org can steer you to volunteer opportunities in your area. If you love the outdoors (and want to burn some calories while meeting like-minded people), contact the American Hiking Society (americanhiking.org), whose volunteers maintain and improve trails in national forests and parks, as well as in areas designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management.

In addition, many local hospitals, schools and social-service agencies have volunteer coordinators you can contact directly. "It can take a long time to find an organization that is a perfect fit for you," says Peters-Davis. In giving volunteering a try, however, you'll be doing yourself and your community a great service.

Annie Murphy Paul is the author of The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves (The Free Press, 2004).