Bankrate: How does volunteer work fit into your schedule?

Art Linkletter: I've worked on various commissions for different presidents and now am working on a commission about volunteering. In the course of that work, we've found that the U.S. has more volunteers by percentage than any other country. Volunteer work is a great way to make your life more meaningful whether you do it with your own family or work as a helper in a hospital or whether your raise money. My wife, Lois, has spent many years raising money for various support groups for orphans and young people.

I trained as an English teacher, which was my first career, so many of my volunteer activities are connected with education. I've been involved in the ARCS Foundation, which gives awards to college students studying science. Scientific research is one thing that keeps America innovative, so I've wanted to encourage that. I've been on the board of several colleges of faith -- Springfield College in Massachusetts, which is affiliated with the YMCA, and Pepperdine University in Malibu, here in California.

Bankrate: How do you decide to volunteer your time?

Art Linkletter: I am frequently asked to get involved but only make a commitment after I've looked into the opportunity. It has to excite my interest. If the person who presents it to me is someone I like to spend time with and is an organizational builder, that's where I want to be, not just with any smart talker. I'm an alpha type personality -- I start out volunteering for something and three years later, I end up in charge of it.

Bankrate: You've been involved in raising awareness and funds for Alzheimer's disease.

Art Linkletter: I was asked a number of years ago to join the board of directors of the French Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease and am chairman of that foundation. When I started with the foundation, I didn't know very much about Alzheimer's, but have learned a lot. This is a disease that will really become more prevalent over the next 20 years, passing lung and heart disease because it is disease of age and our population is aging. At age 60 you have a 1 percent chance of coming down with Alzheimer's; at age 85 or 90 you have a 50 percent chance. As more people are living to be that age, especially with the multiplicity of baby boomers -- there are 76 million of them -- we're going to see more of it.