Though Martin Luther King Jr. Day was the occasion for community participation, many volunteers Monday said they found out about the national day of service through Barack Obama’s transition team and its website.
Friends of Alewife Reservation President Ellen Mass decided to organize a clean-up after hearing about the day of service from the presidential transistion team. About 30 people turned out to shovel snow from a pathway and spruce up the reservation, which spans Cambridge, Somerville and Arlington.
Mass, excited by the inauguration, said she thinks more people participated in this year’s clean-up than those in years past.
‘We have to give the message that we have to volunteer to get society moving again,’ Mass said. ‘It was pretty unbelievable that all those that signed up came except one.’
Even those too young to vote got into community spirit by sprinkling birdseed around the park. Parents said the day presented an opportunity to teach their children about the importance of service.
‘We wanted to be part of a larger national movement about service and for them to be able to see what a lot of people can do when they come together and work as a group,’ Weston resident Laura Moon said, as her children, ages 9 and 11 years old, shoveled alongside her.
‘My husband and I really wanted to do some service, and we picked an event where our kids could participate,’ Somerville resident Emily Qazilbash said, adding that the inauguration had lifted volunteers’ spirits.
‘I think it’s definitely tied to Obama’s inauguration too, and the excitement about it . . . the rejuvenation,’ Qazilbash said. Qazilbash said her 5-year-old daughter Maya was excited because Maya understands volunteering can help change the earth.
Kevin Qazilbash, Emily’s husband, said he thinks a lot can be accomplished when many volunteers come together.
‘It’s like a dark cloud has been lifted from this country [with the election of Obama],’ he said.
FAR intern and Harvard University alumna Hilary Thrasher was impressed by the number of people who helped out on the chilly day.
‘I didn’t imagine that we would have this much turnout,’ she said.
Volunteer Bob Rudin said he hopes for more designated times of service.
‘I think we need more service opportunities . . . service is good for the soul,’ Rudin said.
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