SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Applications for the Governor's Hometown Awards, which recognize community improvement efforts in Illinois, can now be submitted. 

This award program is done through the Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (Serve Illinois). It gives formal recognition to those who were part of projects that improved quality of life in their communities. 

Those projects, which are sponsored by local units of government, "had strong volunteer support, met a need and made a definitive impact, thereby generating a positive outcome in the community and by extension, the state," a press release said. 

The Governor's Hometown Awards work to enhance the commission's mission to make Illinois communities better by instilling an ethic of service and improving volunteerism. 

"Volunteers are continuing to step up to serve unmet needs in their communities and recognition of these community service projects is essential," the release said. 

Townships, villages, cities and counties can apply from now through Feb. 19 for projects that happened and involved community volunteers from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2020. The latest application cycle will cover a two-year period. 

Click here for more information about program criteria and the application process. 

The Serve Illinois Commission is a bipartisan board featuring 40 members (25 voting and 15 non-voting). The board is appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker and administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health.