About 40 percent of Americans say they're willing to spend several weeks on vacations that involve volunteer service, with another 13 percent desiring to spend an entire year, according to a recent survey from the University of California, San Diego.

The survey polled more than 1,400 U.S. adults about global volunteer service, including representatives of the Retiree Generation (age 65 plus), the Baby Boomer Generation (age 45 to 64), Generation X (age 25-44), and Generation Y (age 18-24).

Interestingly, where volunteers want to go and help out is linked to which generation they belong. While 26 percent of Generation Y wants to volunteer in Africa or Europe, about 36 percent of retirees and baby boomers would choose staying in North America for their volunteer vacations.

How old you are also determines how much time people are interested in volunteering on vacation. One week is the preferred amount of time for 29 percent of Generaton Xers and 23 percent of Baby Boomers, while 45 percent of the Retiree Generation and Generation Y would like to help out for many weeks or an entire summer.

"More and more people in all stages of life are thinking of becoming 'voluntourists'," said Bob Benson, director of the Center for Global Volunteer Service at UC San Diego Extension, the sponsor of the study. "People are looking to spend their vacations and retirement in meaningful ways that make contributions to others."

Across generational lines, more than 84 percent of survey respondents identified helping school children, families, and people in poverty as their top interest.

To gain deeper insight into the initial research, UC San Diego conducted an online survey of 433 adults ranging in age from teens to retirees. Approximately 45 percent said they have considered volunteer vacations for themselves, and 72 percent said they know someone who has been a global volunteer.