(CNN) -- When Autumn Preble was a teenager in the 1960s, she spent hours gazing at black-and-white LIFE magazine photographs that documented the journey of Peace Corps volunteers all over the world.



George Stouter, 67, is helping build mental health programs in Saint Kitts for his Peace Corps stint.



Preble, of Whidbey Island, Washington, wanted to join, but after college came marriage and a child.



Now at 58, with her son off to college, she has begun her two-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer working in the public health sector in Francistown, Botswana, where nearly one in four individuals are infected with HIV.



"I'm getting to experience what it's like to live in another culture, and that has a lot of value to me," Preble said from her simple two-bedroom bungalow in Botswana. Preble is known to natives in her community as Masego (Ma say ho), which means "many gifts." "This is the kind of travel that I'm interested in."



Forget the mapped-out cruises or packaged vacations to see the world. A growing number of Americans over 50 are dedicating time in their golden years to volunteering abroad. The decision is becoming more attractive with a sickly national economy sparking more layoffs and early retirement packages.



"The economic crisis is giving them an opportunity to take a break," said Vanessa Noel, an associate director in the nonprofit department of Alliance Abroad Group. The Austin, Texas-based company offers work, teaching and volunteer programs to students and graduates in the U.S. and abroad. Noel coordinates volunteer trips abroad that typically last between two and 12 weeks.



Inquiries from eager adults over 50 have flooded her office in recent months -- so much so that she is creating new programs this summer to Costa Rica and Ecuador tailored to older volunteers that will last several weeks. "Life is short, and now they can seize the opportunities out there."



Applications for the Peace Corps from adults over 50 have spiked 44 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, driven largely by the weak economy and a campaign launched in 2007 to lure mature volunteers. All applicants to the Peace Corps -- a federal program created in 1961 that puts Americans overseas in places of need -- must pass background checks and a health test. Married couples are allowed to join together.



By the end of 2008, there were 428 Peace Corps volunteers over age 50 in the field in countries all over the world, from South Africa and Romania to the Eastern Caribbean, challenging the traditional image of the 20-something, post-college volunteer.  See the stories of Americans over 50 who have volunteered abroad »



Other nonprofit groups specializing in shorter "voluntourism" trips also are seeing a spike in interest. For those unable to leave for the 27 months required by intensive volunteer programs like the Peace Corps, these paid programs last from a week to a year.



Cross-Cultural Solutions, a nonprofit in New York that offers volunteer trips to countries like Russia and Peru from one to 12 weeks, experienced more than a 10 percent growth in volunteers over 50 in 2008, compared with 2007, according to company officials.



San Francisco, California-based Global Services Corps, a nonprofit that coordinates service trips to Thailand, Tanzania and Cambodia for stays from two weeks to a year, saw a 25 percent jump in information requests from older Americans after the stock market tanked in October.



Older volunteers have long donated time to volunteering abroad, perhaps most famously President Jimmy Carter's mother, Lillian Carter, who applied to the Peace Corps at age 68. As global health and economic issues abroad have become more publicized in an increasingly connected world, older Americans venturing overseas hope they can serve some of the poorest communities in the world while improving the tarnished American image abroad.



Many older Americans, like Preble, say they are volunteering abroad in response to President John F. Kennedy's inspiring words from their younger years, asking them to serve their country. Now, they finally have the time.



"They have had a pretty lifelong pattern
How much have the applications spiked? What are nonprofit groups offering? What has spiked 44 percent? what has increased?
44 percent offers work, teaching and volunteer programs to students and graduates in the U.S. and abroad. Applications for the Peace Corps from adults over 50 Applications for the Peace Corps from adults over 50
question: How much have the applications spiked?, answer: 44 percent | question: What are nonprofit groups offering?, answer: offers work, teaching and volunteer programs to students and graduates in the U.S. and abroad. | question: What has spiked 44 percent?, answer: Applications for the Peace Corps from adults over 50 | question: what has increased?, answer: Applications for the Peace Corps from adults over 50