Maryland Community Newspapers Online
Bethesda resident Emily Montague, 12, had a simple project for the county's Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday. She was creating candle wicks used during camps hosted by the county Department of Recreation.
But the huge crowd volunteering at the Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center and the inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday had her thinking bigger thoughts.
The annual service day, which drew more than 1,000 people, featured projects for groups in need like the elderly and orphans, opportunities for people to learn about various local volunteer organizations, conflict resolution activities in honor of King, and a food drive for the Manna Food Center in Rockville.
Events for the Day of Service took place at a dozen sites around the county, including the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville and the Gapbuster Learning Center in Silver Spring.
Several people at the Day of Service said the confluence of Martin Luther King Day and Obama's inauguration seemed to heighten the importance of service and volunteering. Ann Evans, one of the event's organizers for the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, and Bruce Adams, director of the Office of Community Partnerships, both said the crowd had grown in size from previous years.
Lakaisha Yarber of Baltimore, who was handing out material for the African American Health Program to help local women combat HIV and AIDS, said people appeared more excited and energized because of the timing of the event.
"I've smiled more today. I've passed more people who smiled and said they wanted to serve," Yarber said.
Behnam Dayanim of Silver Spring stood over his son and two daughters at one of the dozens of project tables, as they carefully assembled kaleidoscopic tissue paper flowers, scheduled to decorate dining rooms in senior citizen homes. He said one common thread uniting King with Obama motivated him to have his children volunteer for others.
"Martin Luther King exemplifies the ideal of community service, and Barack Obama has made it a part of his campaign," Dayanim said.
Evans said this was the first year the Volunteer Center asked volunteer groups to come to the Day of Service to publicize themselves and recruit new members.
Forty-five groups responded by setting up booths around the second floor of the conference center, ranging from Montgomery Hospice and Mentors, Inc. in Washington, D.C., to the On Our Own facility in Gaithersburg for those dealing with mental illnesses.
"We really want people to understand that the need for volunteers is year-round," Evans said.
