National Day of Service 2013

"The time is always right to do what is right"- Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 19, 2013, President Barack Obama urged the entire nation to take the day and serve their respective communities. I was in Washington D.C. for this event so I spent time by visiting the National Mall where a giant tent was built to spread awareness to hundreds of service organizations and non-profits from American Diabetes Association, to Afterschool Alliance; from United Way to Dress for Success; and from Roots & Shoots to Habitat for Humanity. For more information about the service opportunities they had in the tent, see this website (http://www.serve.gov). Each booth had information about the organization, free pens, free pins, and free stickers. Some booths even had candy! At every booth I visited, the workers for that organization were very helpful and knew exactly what their work was about.

National Day of Service 2013

One of the coolest things that I saw in the tent were laptops set up for everybody visiting to make a pledge and serve a certain amount of hours throughout 2013. I think it would be cool for everybody to make a pledge. I committed to doing 200 hours this year, and hopefully each hour will be spent making my community a better place for living. The service day help special events too, such as speakers Martin Luther King III, Beau Biden and Angela Bassett. There was a fabulous children's choir as well that sang patriotic songs.

Overall, the day was really great and as the week continues, we will learn how many hours America has committed to doing service for the year of 2013. The next big event is the Presidential Inauguration on January 21, and whether we have good or bad weather, it is going to be exciting!

"It's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential."- Barack Obama 

Blair at the National Day of Service 2013