Obama Makes Call For Service On MLK Day

President-elect Barack Obama is encouraging all of his supporters and all Americans to celebrate the inauguration by getting involved in a community service project on January 19th, Martin Luther King Day. And the Obama transition team is reaching into its digital bag of tricks to get the word out:

While presidents past have used Jan. 19 to show by example how helping the poor is good for the country, Obama is using the eve of his inauguration to rally millions of Americans to community service as an antidote to the recession.

In the coming days, Obama's inaugural committee will launch a Web site to link volunteers with service projects in their neighborhoods. The new Web site will incorporate similar work already begun by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency overseeing 7,000 service programs - including AmeriCorps, given the directive by Congress in 1994 to turn Martin Luther King Day into a national day of service.

"President-elect Obama hopes to summon a new spirit of service and call on Americans to make a more enduring and active commitment to our communities throughout the year, because it is a critical time for America to come together to tackle the common challenges we face," said inaugural spokeswoman Shannon Gilson. Source

To be honest, I didn't know that congress had designated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a day of service. One visit to the MLKday.gov page will give you the resources you'll need to get involved in projects in your community. From the site:

How to Serve: There are many ways to find service opportunities in your community on the King holiday and throughout the year.
Volunteer on the Day of Service

If you're looking for opportunities to serve on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, click here to browse a list of MLK Day service projects that have registered with us.

* Click here to find a MLK Day opportunity

Or, hop onto Facebook's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service page to publicize your own project.

READ MORE - Obama calls for national day of service

Our Lens Sept. 1

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US President Barack Obama takes out his daughters Malia (R) and Sasha (2nd L) and niece Suhaila Ng (L) to shop in the Alleys general store on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on August 30, 2009.

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