Got a minute? Change your life

You've thought about helping those less fortunate than yourself. Perhaps you've talked about volunteering.

But you work. Who has time?

That's what Trudy Kuehner was thinking when she searched for the term volunteer opportunities on Yahoo! last summer.

The first site the Philadelphian clicked changed her life, and, thanks to the volunteer work she has done since then, the lives of many others.

That site is CharityGuide.org, a Wilmette, Ill.-based nonprofit that specializes in listing "flexible service projects that can be accomplished anytime, anywhere, in as little as 15 minutes," explained Executive Director Michael Organ.

The site's natural target: busy professionals who want to do good but can't commit hours of their workday to do so.

"Our projects are not time- or date-specific," Organ said. "We provide people an opportunity to make a difference anytime, anywhere."

Good timing

That was perfect for Kuehner. Since she started using the site, Kuehner has:

• Replaced the light bulbs in her home with environmentally friendly fluorescent bulbs.

• Cleaned up cigarette butts in her neighborhood with friends because she learned that 4.5 trillion butts are littered in public each year.

• Started buying coloring books for her local hospital's emergency room.

She found details on these projects, some of which were a single step, at CharityGuide.org, which currently lists 170 service opportunities.

"We actually provide you with step-by-step instructions to accomplish the project," Organ said. One of the guidelines Organ uses when posting new projects is the "canceled meeting test."

"Let's say you have a meeting scheduled to begin in 15 minutes, but you just found out it has been canceled," he said. "Can you go onto Charity Guide and find a project and accomplish it right then and there? If the answer is yes, it's a great project for Charity Guide."

The Web site lists projects by service category, such as animal welfare, children's issues, poverty and "random acts of kindness." Projects are also categorized by time requirements, such as those that can be done in 15 minutes, in a few hours or on a "volunteer vacation" from work.

Productive 15 minutes

What can be accomplished in 15 minutes?

You can move your bird feeder away from your window because many birds die by flying into windows.

You can "send a cheerful card to a chronically ill child in the hospital," Organ said. "Many times there are children who are hospitalized hundreds of miles from home, away from their family."

You can send a quick care package to a service member overseas.

If you're getting a haircut and chopping off a pony tail, the Web site describes how to send it to an organization called Locks of Love, which will turn your hair "into natural-looking wigs for kids ... [so they can] feel brighter about the outlook for their future."

Charity Guide receives about 600,000 unique visitors per year. There is no requirement to sign in or provide any personal information to use the site, and there is no cost.

Organ launched the site about six years ago and has been working on it full time for about a year. He is unpaid and personally funds many of the expenses. A four-person board of directors also helps.

A former Accenture executive, Organ operated an Internet marketing firm before turning his full attention to Charity Guide. "This is my passion," he said simply.