President Barack Obama paints a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. in a library at the Browne Education Center in Washington, DC, on January 16, 2012.
By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News
On the cusp of President Barack Obama’s second inauguration and a national holiday to honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., a National Day of Service began Saturday around the country, calling on Americans to volunteer and serve others.
During the whirlwind weekend to mark the end of the president’s first term and the start of his second, Obama, joined by first lady Michelle Obama, plans to volunteer in the Washington area, along with Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.
Obama started the service projects in 2009 and said he hopes his initiative will become a tradition for future presidents.
“America’s never been about what can be done for us; it’s about what can be done by us together,” Obama said on Jan. 4, according to a White House news release.
Thousands of volunteers in all 50 states are slated to participate this year.
- In Washington, D.C., volunteers will prepare more than 10,000 care packages for soldiers, veterans and first responders.
- In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city agencies will be engaging in service projects in communities affected by Superstorm Sandy.
- Volunteers who signed up in California will give food and winter coats to the homeless.
- In Chicago, service members will gather at Navy Pier to write letters and put together care packages for service members overseas.
- Sixty-two AmeriCorps members in Oklahoma will travel to a neighborhood once segregated by Jim Crow laws to repair homes for low-income families.
The president will officially be sworn in for his second term on Sunday in a private ceremony at the White House. He’ll take the oath of office again on Monday before hundreds of thousands of onlookers on the National Mall, followed by a parade and formal balls in Washington.
