RALEIGH -- Monday wasn't just a day off from work or school for the hundreds who picked up paintbrushes, hammers, garden shears and work gloves to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
It was a chance to fulfill King's promise that "everyone can be great, because everyone can serve."
With Haiti in ruins and the lingering recession packing a wallop on the neediest here at home, many across the Triangle said they felt a strong tug to do something for others as part of a transformation of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday from a day of remembrance to a day of community service.
The United Way of the Triangle steered more than 1,000 volunteers toward projects on Monday. It was a way of lessening the load of those who work day in and day out at Boys & Girls Clubs, homeless shelters and food banks.
And others found projects on their own, just taking the day to do something for the larger community.
In Durham, N.C. Central University students crowded around the freshly dug foundation of a new Habitat for Humanity home site just west of campus. Before the semester ends in May, the students and others hope to transform the pile of boards, boxes of nails and other building materials into a brand new house for Tijuanda L. Farrington, 37, and her daughter, Constance, 16.
Reggie McCrimmon, an NCCU freshman from Fayetteville, said he planned to pitch in as often as he could.
"Our motto at N.C. Central University is truth and service," McCrimmon said. "When we do it here, it makes you feel more like you're a part of the community."
Farrington, who works in the circulation division of the NCCU library, said she planned to use her house as a hub of hospitality where her church groups and others could plan community projects. Having a home of her own within walking distance from the NCCU campus will make it easier for Farrington to do more for others, she said. Not only was she looking forward to working on her own home, but also she was eager to help construct others as part of the sweat-equity that Habitat requires of its homeowners.
"I am so appreciative, I don't know how to put all this emotion in words," Farrington said Monday with a broad smile. "But I know no man is an island. I truly believe that. I don't care if you are living by yourself. We affect each other."
In Raleigh, Lisa Denning spent several hours ripping off strips of green, purple and red duct tape and taping it to the sides of books.
The task was repetitive, but it meant that children who spend their afternoons at the Brentwood Boys & Girls Club could walk into the library and easily grab a book designated for their reading level.
The library had been a controlled mess before. Staff members, who have as many as 80 to 90 children stopping by each day, didn't have the time to sort through the hundreds of books to get things back in order, said Silvia Valencia, who works at the club on New Hope Church Road in North Raleigh.
Denning had taken a half-day off from her clerical job and was elated when she saw volunteers were needed at the Brentwood Boys & Girls Club, having grown up nearby.
"Wow, that's just meant to be," said Denning. This was the first year she had volunteered for the service day; she said she felt moved to do something this time.
Around the corner from where Denning was working, 11-year-old Siderra Hollis was in the center's art room, cleaning out a closet that had become a storage place for much more than art supplies.
She came to volunteer with Hai Ly Burk, who works with Siderra's mother at Duke Raleigh Hospital.
Siderra, a sixth-grader at Daniels Middle School, said she had been looking forward to helping out at the center all weekend.
"I'm glad I'm able to help people," she said. "I like doing this; it makes me feel good."
