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On the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, LAYC AmeriCorps members, youth and their families reported to duty, pulling ivy off trees in Rock Creek Park and participating in beautification projects at an elementary-middle school in northeast Washington.

A group of AmeriCorps members helped install library shelves at the Brown Education Campus, where President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughter Malia also served in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

“At a time when the country has been going through some difficult economic times, for us to be able to come together as a community, people from all different walks of life, and make sure that we're giving back, that's ultimately what makes us the strongest, most extraordinary country on earth," President Obama said.

In the Normanstone section of Rock Creek Park, AmeriCorps members pulled English ivy off many of the trees, which threaten their survival. In Maryland, LAYC-Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers' AmeriCorps and Leaders Like Me members put on a day of celebration open to the public including an educational piece about Martin Luther King, poetry, dance performances, spoken word, and a special performance by the University of Maryland’s Iota Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Students from William Wirt Middle School and Buck Lodge Middle School took part in the performances, and the radio station La Nueva provided an in-kind DJ to host the event. 

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