Corporate volunteer programs have been around for quite some time — whether it’s prepping Thanksgiving dinner at a shelter, picking up trash on the side of the street, or doing some community landscaping with your coworkers, volunteering has been proven to boost company-wide morale and improve employee performance.

There are endless worthy volunteering opportunities. And as a remote-working wahve, having life-work balance makes volunteering a real possibility. Because we believe every pretiree has something valuable to offer society, this week we’re talking about “strategic volunteering.”

Strategic volunteering asks you to pursue volunteer work that matches your unique set of skills. For example, if you’re a communications professional, you could write a communications plan for a nonprofit organization, or if you enjoy customer service, you could do some hours for a nonprofit’s call center and encourage donations.

Catchafire focuses on busy professionals using their professional skills to make a difference. In searching for a volunteering opportunity, not only can you filter by cause, but you can filter ongoing projects by your unique skillset — such as research, writing, fundraising and many more. Why not bring your positive influence, experience and outlook to every volunteer endeavor? And while you’re at it, you can even enhance existing or create new, applicable professional skills.

As a remote worker, you can use a volunteer endeavor as a way to bond with your coworkers. Even if you are separated geographically, there are wonderful ways to volunteer together in spirit. For example, if you’re an avid walker, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides walks occur in multiple cities throughout the year, enabling colleagues from different cities to participate in one effort. Or, if you like to garden, your team could commit to planting trees in your respective local parks or yards. You could even update the team with the growth of your tree, as your remote relationships “grow”!

What volunteer programs have you loved participating in?