AFF Answered Call to Service
National Day of Service for Martin Luther King Jr.
January 19^th, 2009

This year's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was dedicated to the renewal of America's spirit of service so our staff did not take a holiday on Monday, January 19, as usual. For this special day of service we scheduled a cleanup! Through the Presidential Inaugural Committee website www.usaservice.org we enlisted the help of many volunteers. We braved the cold and set out to do our favorite activities - picking up trash and educating kids!

The cleanup took place at Hard Bargain Farm, where over sixty people showed up and removed 103 bags of trash (close to 2,575 pounds) from the icy cold Potomac River shoreline. "We had very happy and energetic volunteers despite the cold conditions" said Brenda Wright, the coordinator of this event. Hot chocolate was served along with homemade cookies. At the end of the cleanup, a 5-year old boy said "I never knew that it would be so much fun picking up trash!" We couldn't have said it better!

A second group of AFF staffers attended the Renewal of Anacostia Park project in DC's Anacostia Park. Educational booths were set up, trash was removed and forty-four trees were planted in honor of the 44th President. With the possibility of President Obama showing up, hundreds of people attended the event, again, regardless of the cold weather. Sadly, the crowd did not get to see President Obama, but were entertained by Congressman Steny Hoyer, Senator Benjamin Cardin, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Mayor Adrian Fenty. It was a very successful day for Anacostia Park.