Schaumburg Receives Governor's Hometown Award for Monarch Butterfly Initiative

The Village of Schaumburg has received the Governor's Hometown Award in the category of environmental stewardship for its Monarch Butterfly Initiative, a volunteer and fundraising initiative to raise awareness about monarch butterflies and their importance to the environment.

The Governor's Hometown Awards recognize volunteers for their work in improving their communities. Schaumburg was one of 21 Illinois communities honored at a reception held Nov. 14 at the Governor's Mansion in Springfield.

"This is a wonderful honor to recognize these dedicated local volunteers who displayed a commitment to educate and preserve an important component of our natural environment," said Schaumburg Village President Tom Dailly.

The Schaumburg Monarch Butterfly Initiative was started by three friends, Carol Johnson, Delores Potter and Judy Wood, who shared a passion to preserve the iconic monarch butterfly. Together, they helped raise more than $3,500 to assist the Schaumburg Park District in constructing a butterfly rearing and education station at the Spring Valley Nature Center, where the group conducted educational and awareness programming and raised and released almost 600 monarchs. Throughout 2018, they also recruited and trained more than 60 volunteers who logged 2,300 volunteer hours to assist at the center.

This is the Village of Schaumburg's second Governor's Hometown Award this decade. Schaumburg was last honored with a Governor's Hometown Award in 2014 for its Older Adult Market.

Administered by the Serve Illinois Commission, the Governor's Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, the Governor's Hometown Award recipients were selected by volunteer judges who reviewed and ranked applications based on a variety of criteria. Each project winner receives a road sign for its community and plaque recognizing its efforts. A complete list of winners and their projects can be found at www.serve.illinois.gov.