By Erica Anderson and Gil Kaufman
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a rousing morning of speeches about the importance of community service at Ballou Senior High School, attendees took inspiration from President-elect Barack Obama — who painted walls at nearby Sasha Bruce House for homeless teens — and clocked in for their own tour of service. To the tune of the Ballou High School Majestic Marching Knights band, playing a funky, horn-fueled cover of Madonna's "4 Minutes," hundreds of volunteers walked excitedly down a steep hill to Abram Simon Elementary.
Once inside the gymnasium, Mayor Adrian Fenty gave a keynote address to the enthusiastic kids, who were packed into the room awaiting their assignments for the day.
Jawanna, 24, a D.C. local who came to volunteer, was going to shelve books in the library, which was being rebuilt. "Obama is working to get the entire nation to provide service," Jawanna said. "It means a lot to me, not just because it is MLK Day, but because of the swearing-in of our first black president tomorrow."
Outside, in the hallways and classrooms, shelves were being built and sky-blue paint was being rolled over the gunmetal-gray walls by students, parents and local volunteers as inspirational songs by Pink and Raven-Symoné blasted out of portable speakers.
Emma, 22, just moved to D.C. as part of AmeriCorps. "We're painting the halls right now to brighten up the school for the kids," she said. "It's important to take time to do service — and for kids to see people volunteering in their community. We hope it will encourage them to also volunteer."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the building, none other than Superman and Spider-Man — actors Brandon Routh and Tobey Maguire — were rolling up their sleeves and doing their part by talking to kids and grabbing a brush.