Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Volunteering in America is on the rise.

A federal report says Americans spent 100 million more hours helping their communities last year than in 2008.

The number of people getting involved also went up by 1.6 million to 63.4 million, as more women and blacks lent a helping hand.

Overall, Americans set aside more than 8 billion hours to give back last year.

Raising money or selling items was the top volunteer activity. That was followed by collecting and distributing food.

The report is being released Tuesday by the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)