(IDG) -- It's not like you're busy or anything - what with long hours at work, fussy end users and your kids vying for your attention at home. And that's not to mention your long commute. Who has time to think about volunteer work?

You do.

"Volunteering in America is so amazing. It's a privilege," says Russian émigré Sasha Epstein, chief operating system architect for EPiCON, Inc., a Web application vendor in Waltham, Mass. "The possibilities are great."

Two weeks a year, Epstein volunteers at the Mount Washington Observatory weather tracking station in New Hampshire. This past January, the observatory staff tapped Epstein to install a wireless network to give an administrative office in North Conway, N.H., access to the observatory's files.

Even after Epstein leaves the summit, he lends support via telephone for such projects as installing a Windows NT Primary Domain Controller or checking to see if each PC's network configuration is correct.

Epstein isn't the only IS professional donating time and talent.

"Volunteerism is on the increase," says Bob Goodwin, president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation, a volunteer service and development center in Washington, D.C. "We are seeing an increase not only in numbers of people, but also a deepening of commitment and level of involvement."

Adults donated an estimated $201.5 billion worth of wages in 1995. But it's the donated talent of technically skilled volunteers that may be priceless. "Many not-for-profits are technologically behind the times. If they don't catch up, they'll be left in the dust forever," says Sue Vineyard, managing partner at Vineyard-McCurley Systems, a community service and volunteerism consultancy and newsletter publisher in Downers Grove, Ill.

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Lisa Prescutti agrees. "Nonprofits probably don't understand how much tech help they need," says Prescutti, director at BlueDot Software, an online trade show producer in San Francisco who shares her technical talent with the Berkeley Symphony. She reconfigured the symphony's network, trained staff to better use the network, and updated and increased the symphony's Web presence. Now workers can share resources and e-mail and gather statistics from the Web site. The symphony hopes Prescutti's improvements to its site will help attract a younger audience.

The symphony isn't the only winner here. Prescutti's volunteer work benefits her professionally, a theme echoed by many volunteers. "It's added color to my professional life. My CEO was thrilled I was volunteering," Prescutti says. "I think employers like to see you involved in community. It's a character call."

And it's no surprise bosses give extra credit to employees doing good deeds. Sensitive companies of the '90s are heavily involved in community service projects, from sponsoring NetDay events to donating high-tech equipment to charitable organizations.

An IS manager at Mutual of Omaha Companies answered his employer's call for volunteers. Matt Oberst installed a small network at the Edmonson Youth Outreach Center in Omaha, Neb., using hardware his company donated. Through Mutual of Omaha's mentoring program, Oberst also works with the student responsible for the youth center's computers and networks.

Adding to your cache with your boss isn't the only benefit of volunteering. Just ask William Koester, service engineering manager with Digital Equipment Corp. in Stow, Mass. "Volunteering helped to keep me employed," he says.

Koester believes his volunteer work for a local technical high school and municipality was key to surviving layoffs at Digital. He helped install the school's network, implemented a high-tech curriculum and designed his town's Web site. "Keeping up and educated is critical. I [would have been] pushed out the door if I hadn't stayed current," he says.

While Epstein, Prescutti and Koester have taken different paths, they all started from the same point - their passions. Koester looked to his own life as a father and became involved with schools. Prescutti combined her love for technology and the arts. She's even begun working with a Web-based art gallery. Even Epstein's choice to volunteer at the observatory was no accident. During his off time, the hard-core mountaineer suits up to explore what he describes as the "home of the world's worst weather." Winds on Mt. Washington average 100 mph, and the temperature is usually below zero in the winter. "There are windows of two or three hours when the wind is below 70 mph. In those conditions, I can hike," he says.

But not everyone has to climb a mountain to volunteer. There are opportunities - great and small - in your own backyard.

"If you're sitting on the fence, just try giving an hour every two weeks," Prescutti recommends. "You might like it."

Prencipe is a freelance writer and attorney in Springfield, Va. She can be reached at LWPrencipe@mailexcite.com.