SPRINGFIELD - Illinois officials hope a new Web site unveiled Thursday can help people find volunteer opportunities locally.

At the site, people can enter what kind of volunteering they want to do and their zip code, and various organizations and activities pop up.

The state still has to work out some bugs, though, because some zip codes will call up activities nowhere near a local area. A zip code in Decatur, for example, showed a few local opportunities Thursday, but it also listed dozens in and around Chicago.

Department of Human Services spokesman Tom Green said the site is being cleaned up.

The site's unveiling came the same day hundreds of AmeriCorps volunteers descended on Springfield for an annual ceremony. Members of the program volunteer for a year in exchange for a stipend, money to pay for education or job training.

A group of 11 volunteers from Illinois State University traveled to the Illinois Capitol on Thursday. They help low-income preschool students, said Julie Shaffer, the group's leader.

"You get to see a 3- or 4-year-old really grow," she said.

The Web site can be found at www.serve.illinois.gov.

mike.riopell@lee.net|789-0865.