From Ranks of Jobless, a Flood of Volunteers

Nini Duh, 29, was laid off from Lehman Brothers in September and now volunteers at any number of places — an elementary school, a finance workshop in Chinatown — nearly every day. It is a welcome change from her 100-hour weeks before her investment bank went bankrupt.

“Now I get to wake up when it’s light outside, and things start at 10 instead of 7 in the morning,” said Ms. Duh, who lives in Flushing, Queens. “Sometimes I think, ‘If this was my job, this would be nice.’ ”