LANSING — The Michigan Community Service Commission recently announced that nominations are being sought for the 2018 Governor’s Service Awards.

The Governor’s Service Awards are given annually by the governor to individuals, organizations and businesses to acknowledge their commitment to serving their communities through volunteerism. This event is hosted by the Michigan Community Service Commission.

The 2018 celebration will be in June.

The 2018 Governor’s Service Awards nomination is an online application available at michigan.gov/governorsserviceawards. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31.

“These awards serve as a unique opportunity to highlight Michiganders helping Michiganders,” said Gov. Rick Snyder. “We want to hold up Michigan’s best volunteers and show them off as role models for others. I hope you will help recognize the outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses in Michigan by nominating them for the Governor’s Service Awards.”

In 2018, awards will be presented in 10 categories which reflect the diverse nature of volunteers throughout the state.

The categories are:

• Governor George Romney Lifetime Achievement Award: honors an individual who has shown a lifelong commitment to community involvement and volunteerism

• Lifetime Humanitarian Award: honors individuals or families that have demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding civic and charitable responsibility to a community or organization

• Senior Volunteer of the Year Award: honors individuals age 65 and older who have taken action to make their community a better place to live through service

• Volunteer of the Year Award: honors an individual who strives to improve the lives of neighbors, friends, community or congregation through volunteerism

• Youth Volunteer of the Year Award: honors individuals who are age 25 or younger who have already begun making a significant difference in their community through service

• Mentor of the Year Award: honors an individual who provides youth (ages 25 and under) with the confidence and assets to be successful

• Outstanding Volunteer Organization Award: honors service clubs, nonprofit, faith-based, veteran, disaster preparedness and other organizations that make a demonstrated difference in their community

• Education Service Leader Award: honors schools, colleges, universities and other organizations that support youth making a difference in their communities.

• Outstanding National Service Program Award: honors organizations that provide a high-quality national service program that yields a significant impact in a Michigan community

• Corporate and Small Business Community Leader Award: honors corporations and businesses that excel in community involvement and demonstrate excellent corporate citizenship by giving back to their community in a variety of ways

This will be Gov. Snyder’s eighth year of involvement in the Governor’s Service Awards, which were launched by Gov. John Engler in 1992 and maintained by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm during her terms in office.

For additional information or questions, please contact the MCSC at (517) 335-4295 or gsa@michigan.gov.

The Michigan Community Service Commission utilizes service as a strategy to address the state’s most pressing issues and empowers volunteers to strengthen communities, officials said. In 2017-2018, the MCSC will grant more than $9 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. Michigan’s AmeriCorps, Volunteer Michigan and Mentor Michigan are also programs of the MCSC.

Visit michigan.gov/volunteer for more information.