Be a volunteer on MLK Day
Many community leaders are urging those who have a day off on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to spend it volunteering, just like the late civil rights leader would have wanted. Rancho resident Russ Warner, who most recently ran against Rep. David Dreier for Congress, shared with me his thoughts for Monday:
Although I was just a young boy when John F. Kennedy became president of the United States, his election had a profound impact on me. It was then I realized that the success or failure of our great nation rests in the hands of each and every American.
No other president has had such a huge influence on me, until now. That's why I have been counting down the days, hours and minutes until Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday.
Like JFK, President-elect Obama recognizes we must work together to effect positive change. In his own inaugural address, Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." In the same vein, President-elect Obama has called on each and every one of us to spend the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in service to our communities.
In and around my own community there's a wide range of activities to take part in, from giving blood at the Red Cross in Pomona, participating in the creation of a beautiful mural in Montclair or volunteering with literacy programs at the Foothill Family Shelter in Upland. You can learn more about volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood by visiting the National Day of Service Web site at www.usaservice.org.
If you are able, I urge you to help and remember the words of President-elect Obama: "We are one people: we are one nation; and together we will begin the next great chapter in America's story."
Although I was just a young boy when John F. Kennedy became president of the United States, his election had a profound impact on me. It was then I realized that the success or failure of our great nation rests in the hands of each and every American.
No other president has had such a huge influence on me, until now. That's why I have been counting down the days, hours and minutes until Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday.
Like JFK, President-elect Obama recognizes we must work together to effect positive change. In his own inaugural address, Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." In the same vein, President-elect Obama has called on each and every one of us to spend the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in service to our communities.
In and around my own community there's a wide range of activities to take part in, from giving blood at the Red Cross in Pomona, participating in the creation of a beautiful mural in Montclair or volunteering with literacy programs at the Foothill Family Shelter in Upland. You can learn more about volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood by visiting the National Day of Service Web site at www.usaservice.org.
If you are able, I urge you to help and remember the words of President-elect Obama: "We are one people: we are one nation; and together we will begin the next great chapter in America's story."
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