Record Numbers of Americans Poised to Volunteer on King Holiday

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been an official day of service since 1994, but organizers are hopeful that Americans will turn out in record numbers this year, thanks to a push by President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to encourage volunteering on that day.

USAService.org, a Web site created by Mr. Obama’s inaugural committee, has registered more than 11,000 volunteering events to be held this Monday. HandsOn Network, which organizes volunteers, will be managing 2,600 projects nationwide.

Among those pledging to make Monday “a day on, not a day off”:

• More than 5,000 employees with Kaiser Permanente, who will deliver coats to homeless shelters in Washington, clean up a Boys & Girls Club facility in Georgia, and participate in dozens of other projects across the country.

• The musicians Herbie Hancock and Josh Groban, who will be helping Feeding America, the national network of food charities, hold a rally against hunger in Washington.

• Staff members of Planned Parenthood, who will be assisting other charities nationwide. Employees in Georgia, for example, will paint an Atlanta school for the day, while employees in Washington State will be picking up trash in their cities.

• Approximately 16,000 college students from 130 campuses in 28 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. They plan to clean up neighborhoods, serve meals to hospice patients, and help with many other tasks.

• Roughly 65,000 Philadelphia residents, who plan to volunteer through the 14th Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. Todd Bernstein, the event’s organizer, says that represents 5,000 more people than last year, according to a press release on the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Web site.

Some companies are trying to capitalize on the spirit of Monday’s Day of Service by asking people to make longer-term commitments to volunteerism. For four days starting January 21, Starbucks is giving a free coffee to customers who pledge five hours or more of volunteer time to a local cause.

Are you participating in a volunteer project on Monday? What can be done to promote volunteerism the rest of the year? Click on the comments box below to let us know.