Shanghai volunteers put in the most hours

Shanghai volunteers spent more than 73 hours last year in voluntary service on average — topping the list in China.

Their dedication was noted in a report released recently by the China Volunteer Service Federation.

It also said that about 10.85 percent of Shanghai residents had registered as volunteers by the end of last year, making the city third best performer, after Beijing with 17.11 percent and Chongqing with 15.2 percent.

Across the country, 2.56 percent of the population is registered as volunteers and they provided about 420 million hours of voluntary services last year, or 11.93 hours per person.

Shanghai volunteers had the longest service time, averaging 73.63 hours per person last year. And in the first half of this year, Shanghai kept its lead, with 65.79 hours per person.

The report also praised the city for its practices, such as promoting volunteer service by setting up 11 district voluntary service guidance centers and 220 community voluntary service centers to make volunteers more professional and accessible in Shanghai.