WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, Congresswoman Betty Sutton (D-OH) joined millions of Americans in celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Leading up to inauguration day, President-Elect Obama along with Congressional leaders in the House and Senate called for a "National Day of Service" that took place as the nation observed the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. More than 12,100 community projects took place across the country on Monday, doubling last year's efforts in part by the president's call to service. As Americans made the holiday "a day on, not a day off" by reading to children and delivering meals, Representative Sutton helped assemble care packages for troops in Afghanistan. The event was believed to be the largest assembly line for troop care packages in history.

"This nationwide participation showed that President Obama's inauguration represents so much more than a ceremony," Sutton said. "His inaugural address pledged a new era of responsibility and common purpose. We will achieve that goal not only through government efforts to protect our most vulnerable citizens, but also through Americans helping their neighbors in need, as they did on Monday."

"I am thrilled to welcome President Obama and his inspirational message of hope. Although we share great excitement over his historic inauguration, we must also remember the many reasons we elected our new president: to fix the broken economy, to foster new job opportunities and to solve our energy crisis. I'm confident that together we can work hard to bring change to America."