President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, joined hundreds of ordinary Washingtonians — and a few trucked-in celebrities — in a day of service Monday.
The Obamas started their Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at Walter Reed Army Hospital, where they visited sick and wounded members of the armed forces. They were joined by King’s son, Martin III.
The next stop for the soon-to-be first couple was the Sasha Bruce House, an emergency shelter for homeless kids. Obama, a former community organizer, stripped off his jacket and helped volunteers paint a wall at the shelter.
“We can’t allow any idle hands,” Obama said. “Everybody has to be involved. Everybody has to pitch in.”
He and Michelle Obama later hosted a lunch for volunteers.
There were nearly 12,100 King-related volunteer projects around the country Monday, more than double last year. Obama, who will be the nation’s first black president, has urged his countrymen and -women to get involved. In an address broadcast on YouTube, Obama said he wanted Americans to get involved and stay involved in community service.
“I am asking you to make a lasting commitment to make better the lives of your fellow Americans — a commitment that must endure beyond one day, or even one presidency,” he said.
The Associated Press quoted House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., as saying that Obama would dedicate his administration to rebuilding a spirit of public service among Americans. His inaugural address is expected to call for a new “era of responsibility.”
They weren’t the only ones hoping to transfer the King holiday into a day of service. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty spent part of his Monday putting together care packages for soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen at RFK Stadium.
Ordinary Washingtonians helped, too.
D.C. firefighters and paramedics converted their stations into hubs for a food drive, with canned goods going to the Capital Area Food Bank.
Members of the National Black Nurses Association handed out clothes at Central Union Mission.
The charity Kidsave, which helps orphaned or abandoned children find loving families, held a fundraising drive.
Volunteers from Burgundy Crescent, a gay rights group, showed up at the campus of St. Elizabeths mental hospital to play cards and board games, apply nail polish, toss beach balls and otherwise engage the patients.
“Unfortunately, the hospital staff can never be big enough to give each patient the time, the attention, or just the conversation or trash talk that they would like to have,” the group wrote on its Web ad for the event.
