Doing good and having a good time

As we enter a new year, I like to draw attention to nonprofit travel organizations that serve a cause. Here are some worthy of support:

American Hiking Society, (301) 565-6704, www.americanhiking.org: An organization that fights against degradation of our nation’s hiking trails. It offers one- and two-week volunteer vacations costing $80, during which participants pull weeds, remove fences, dig trenches and perform other useful tasks in some of America’s loveliest national parks.

Elderhostel, (877) 426-8056, www.elderhostel.org: This 27-year-old organization is a vast nonprofit program of reasonably priced, year-round, one- to three-week learning adventures for people 55 and older.

For most of Elderhostel’s existence, the greater part of its program has consisted of six-night stays at academic institutions in the United States, where its members live in student residences, eat in student dining halls and participate in classroom instruction in various subjects. The average cost is $80 per day for lodging, meals and tuition.

Hostelling International, (202) 783-6161, www.hiayh.org: This is the former International Youth Hostel Federation, renamed to overcome a misconception that its properties are open only to young people.

People of all ages -- families, couples and seniors -- use hostels. Of 4,000 hostels in more than 70 countries, about 125 are in the United States and Canada, where they charge $8 to $24 per person, per night for gender-separate multi-bed accommodations (and occasionally for private rooms). They are warm gathering places where people mix and converse without barriers of race, religion, age or class.

A nominal 12-month membership fee ($18 seniors, $28 adults, free for those younger than 18) will bring you an illustrated directory of hostels in North America. Volumes dealing with Europe and the Mediterranean or Africa, South America, Asia or Australia are $13.95 extra.

Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality, (212) 447-7284, www.sath.org: This is a long-established nonprofit advocacy and information-gathering organization for disabled travelers. It’s a reliable source of travel recommendations and referrals. Each year, hundreds of physically challenged people phone the society for free, impartial advice.

United States Servas, (212) 267-0252, www.usservas.org: Since 1948, this U.S. branch of the international nonprofit organization Servas has enabled many thousands of travelers to stay for free in the homes of other members around the world. It aims to serve the cause of world peace by enabling people of varying cultures and outlooks to get to know and understand one another.

Applicants are interviewed to screen out those who are simply seeking a cheap place to stay, in favor of outgoing, dedicated travelers eager to converse and socialize with their hosts. The yearly fee is $65.

Wilderness Inquiry, (612) 676-9400, www.wildernessinquiry.org: This group operates vacation trips for less than $100 a day per person that enable physically handicapped people to enjoy outdoor adventures (canoeing, trekking) by including them in expeditions undertaken by non-disabled people who offer to go on the trip. The resulting groups -- half disabled, half not -- embark on an excursion of three to 23 days; the able-bodied lend a hand when necessary. The organization goes to locations as remote as the Canadian Yukon.