(Washington, D.C.) —Today Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, joined by Serve DC Executive Director Amy Ward, renewed his call to service by asking District residents to join Serve DC-The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism to commemorate its 8th annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service on Monday, January 18, 2010. City Year youth volunteers and city officials gathered at Ron Brown Middle School to join the mayor in his call for service.

"This is an opportunity for all residents in the District of Columbia to join together in the spirit of Dr. King's legacy to help shape and transform this city through service," Mayor Fenty said. "I call on all of our residents to join me in rolling up our sleeves as we work together in honor of one of this nation’s greatest civil servants."

More than 30,000 residents will participate in over 200 service projects across the city making the District the second largest MLK service day in the country. Coined as a “day on, and not a day off," each year January 18th continues to be a springboard for thousands of community service projects conducted all over the nation as a tribute to the late Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to serving others. Of the 200 service projects being coordinated across every Ward of the city, Serve DC will host two signature projects:

• MLK, Jr. Memorial Library Outdoor Soup Kitchen, Clothing Drive and Community Expo
Serve DC, in collaboration with DC Public Libraries and We Feed Our People, a DC-based nonprofit that provides nutritious meals to homeless citizens, along with 350 volunteers will provide food, social services, and opportunities for H1N1 shots to over 700 underprivileged residents, while digitizing and book restoration projects occur inside the MLK library.

• “Realizing the Dream” Opportunity Outreach with Potomac Job Corps
Serve DC and the Potomac Job Corps Center are partnering to provide disadvantaged residents with an "Opportunity Outreach" featuring social, housing, educational, and career placement services. In addition over 70 Potomac Job Corps Culinary Arts students will serve over 300 local residents with a warm meal.

Mayor Fenty recently furthered his commitment to service by signing on as a founding member of the Cities of Service coalition on September 10, 2009. Cities of Service is a bipartisan coalition of mayors who have answered the historic Edward M. Kennedy - Serve America Act’s call to action. The 2010 MLK, Jr. Day of Service is the coalition’s first task joining together to call the residents of their respective cities to serve on this day.
As Serve DC embarks on its 10th Anniversary coordinating volunteer efforts in the District of Columbia, residents are encouraged to visit serve.dc.gov often to find out about local service opportunities in their community and to register their own service projects.