More city residents keen to volunteer

AN increasing number of Shanghai residents are taking part in voluntary services, according to a survey released yesterday by Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

There are more than 3.5 million registered volunteers in Shanghai, taking up nearly 15 percent of the city population, and a sharp jump from 0.1 percent in 2009.

Community service, city operation and environment protection are the top three popular voluntary activities.

Among the 1,007 volunteers interviewed in the survey, 54.3 percent said they took part in community services last year, while 34.8 percent opted for city operation and 30.3 percent chose environment protection.

Medical or health service was chosen by 13.1 percent of the volunteers while only 8.1 percent volunteered for emergency rescue. Together with community service, they were among the top three voluntary services most wanted by local citizens.

More than 95 percent of the volunteers said they would continue voluntary services in the future, up slightly from the result in the survey released last year.

The latest survey also revealed that over 91 percent of the city’s citizens were satisfied with the services provided by the volunteers.

Ten volunteers, 10 volunteer programs and 10 volunteer bodies were awarded for their outstanding contribution to the society in an annual ceremony held on Wednesday.

Among the volunteers who won awards were medical and legal professionals and non-professionals who are devoted to environmental protection, poverty relief and startup services.