1. Baby Cuddling – Early cuddling is vital to a child’s emotional well-being. Studies show that children who have been deprived of close physical contact have lower levels of social-bonding hormones. As a volunteer baby cuddler, you’d be trained to handle, hold, rock, and pat hospitalized infants. Call your local hospital or long-term childcare facility and ask the volunteer coordinator about baby cuddling programs at their facility.

2. Each month, PBS reaches more than 120 million people through television and nearly 21 million people online. But before there was a PBS.org, there was Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow and Mr. Rogers. Now there’s Elmo, PBSKids and a father’s touching tribute to his daughter’s hair. As a child, PBS was my window onto the world. It has ushered generations of kids into adulthood without political agenda and while representing all the colors of the rainbow. Show PBS they’re appreciated by becoming a member of your local station, providing In-Kind Services through your company, or simply by volunteering. Visit PBS.org’s support page to learn how.

3. A recipe for lasting change – Heifer International is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help end world hunger and poverty through self-reliance & sustainability. I’ve been a Heifer International Supporter for years and here’s why. By giving a gift of livestock, Heifer helps a family which helps build a business which helps build a community. Watch a short video about Heifer here. Visit their Give page to learn more about volunteer opportunities, helping schools around the globe, hosting a Heifer fund-raising event and more.

4. Reading is Fundamental (RIF) – Remember the RIF PSA? RIF was founded on the premise that one person can make a difference in the life of one child and one community. Its mission is to motivate young children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members. It accomplishes this through monetary donations, book donations and volunteer efforts across the country. Visit RIF’s volunteer page to find volunteer opportunities in your area or to make a tax-deductible donation of $25 click here.

5. Volunteer on Demand – Want a way to search for other volunteer efforts by type and location? Visit Charityguide.org for hundreds of ways to volunteer your time – 15 minutes at a time.  Make volunteering a family event and help spread the giving nature to the next generation.

1. It’s freezing cold! You’re all bundled up, but you’ve got to make that phone call or get to that app on your iphone. Enter Etre Touchy gloves. The gloves are designed without thumb and index fingertips, allowing you to “touch, tap, stroke, slide and pinch your devices’ controls in any way you desire.” Sounds clever (and a bit suggestive.) The gloves, sold by a company out of the UK, are about $30 and come in four designs. It’s great for photographers too!

2. Fashionistas, there’s a search engine just for you! Glimpse.com (Now a part of TheFind.com) lets you browse for high-fashion apparel and accessories by look, category, store or brand. You can request sales alerts via email and even grab that great necklace or those perfect jeans you saw your favorite celeb wearing.

3. Magazines at 50% – 90% off cover – Everyone knows Amazon.com is great for deals on just about anything, but did you know that you can get magazine subscriptions like Cosmo, O Magazine and Newsweek for as little as $.65 per issue? And now through February 28th, there’s an extra $5 off some of their most popular titles.

4. Teach a man – or woman – to fish… Kiva.org’s goal is to help alleviate world-wide poverty by allowing micro-lenders like you and me to give as little as $25 to an applicant in the need of funding for their business. The site’s home page includes the faces and stories of men and women from all over the world (including the U.S.) for which a micro-loan can help jump start or sustain their businesses and in turn, their families. Kiva handles payment disbursements and boasts a 1% default rate and a 97% on-time repayment rate. Because Kiva’s a charity, you won’t earn interest on your loan – well, not the monetary kind anyway. We’re signing up today!

5. Project Gutenberg was the webs first producer of free ebooks. On Project Gutenberg, you can download over 30,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPhone, Kindle or other portable reading device. The books are available for free, and legally, because their copyrights have expired. Browse their online catalog by author, title or top 100. The site is great for classics including those from Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Frederick Douglass.

1. Ok, so you’d have to be drunk to be fooled into thinking this was really spaghetti – but at only 20 calories, 3 grams of carbs and .5 g fat per serving, House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles will do. Served best in soups or stir fried, these noodles add a bit of texture and flavor to low carb meals. You can find these noodles at your local farmers market, or you can check out the store list here.

2. Busy mom? E-mealz is a “meal planning resource for mom and frugal family cooks.” Meal plans are based on what’s currently on sale at grocery stores and options are categorized according to store choice and/or whatever weight management plan you and your family are on. Meal plans are designed to feed 4-6 people and are budgeted at around $75 per week. Two person plans average $35 total per week.  For a subscription of $5 per month, members receive a complete weekly aisle-by-aisle grocery list and menu plan.

3. The 4-Hour work week by Timothy Ferris – This book will revolutionize the way you approach working, whether you’re your own boss or work for someone else. We don’t necessarily subscribe to all his methods, but as they say “eat the meat and spit out the bones.” From outsourcing to time management to the cult of 9-5, you’ll never look at “a job” the same way again. Click here to visit Ferris’ website and read a few chapter previews.

4. JustGive – We all have a heart for giving but sometimes are unsure about how and where to give. JustGive is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase charitable giving by connecting people with the charities and causes they care most about.  It’s a website “dedicated to creating comprehensive tools and services to make charitable giving a part of everyday life.”  Ninety-seven cents of every dollar you contribute goes straight to the charities you designate.

5. Tech savvy? Not so tech savvy? Check out Geek Girlfriends for the latest tech world news. Christina Tynan-Wood, a technology writer and author of the book , How to Be a Geek Goddess describes the site as “a place for women who like technology but want a hand getting or keeping up to speed.” This is not a site for geeks. But it’s ok if you happen to be one.

Got something fab for ‘Five for Friday’? Email your info to contribute@womenatforty.com. We’ll feature it in an upcoming Five for Friday feature.