Volunteer Excitement! No, Really!

You know and I know that, despite all hope and expectations, every single volunteer engagement you do won't qualify as fun. This can be due to any number of factors, including setting, weather, your mood that day and even your co-volunteers and (we can admit it) the recipients of your good will.

So every now and then you need a little extra kick to make volunteering exciting. That's one reason we're running the Create The Good Win & Do Good Contest and Sweepstakes.

Playing is a breeze: Visit CreateTheGood.org to find volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood and then enter the contest and sweepstakes.   You could win $25 to $15,000 for your favorite charity - and maybe even a little something for yourself!

The Instant Win Game offers you a chance to win two $25 gift cards - one to keep and one to give to the charity of your choice.  You can also enter the  Volunteering Story Contest - as the name implies, you tell us how you volunteer to help others - for a chance to win up to $15,000 for the non-profit through which you did your great work!

You can play the Instant Win game, up to once per day, through Nov. 18. You can enter the story contest through Sept. 30. After that date, judges will review the entries and pick seven regional finalists, each of whom will win $5,000 for the charity where he or she volunteered. On Oct. 21, we'll announce those finalists and all Create The Good members will have a chance to vote, through Nov. 18,  for the grand prize winner, who will receive an additional $10,000 for the charity where he or she volunteered.

For the record, I actually do find volunteering fun most of the time.  The Create The Good Win & Do Good Contest and Sweepstakes gives us all oen more reason to get - and stay - involved to make the world a better place for all of us.