IT workers can put their skills to the test by volunteering their expertise.

The American Red Cross welcomes volunteers with specific professional proficiencies and will place them in assignments where they can flex that expertise, says American Red Cross spokesman Daniel Graver. Although

all volunteers are welcome, Graver says, the relief agency specifically needs people with technical skills. "The stuff they do is superimportant," he says, pointing out that IT volunteers frequently set up communication lines and computer networks in areas that have no other connections.

Be prepared for the challenge. "Anything we're doing with communications and technology, you're working under extreme circumstances, you're working long hours, and you never know what you're going to be working on," Graver says.

IT professionals can contact their local American Red Cross chapters to sign up as volunteers. Local chapter information can be found at the organization's Web site, www.redcross.org.