Illinoisans heed call, volunteer

Hundreds of people across Illinois volunteered their time on Martin Luther King Day by delivering canned goods to food kitchens, cleaning nature preserves and, in at least one case, painting murals.

Several people wielding paint brushes at one Chicago shelter for teen mothers were first-time volunteers, heeding a call by President-elect Barack Obama for Americans to serve others on Monday as a way to honor the slain civil rights leader.

"I was so inspired by Obama's call," said David Rose, 35, a Chicago Public Schools teacher who paused as he supervised students painting a giant teddy bear onto a wall at the shelter, called New Moms, Inc. "I think it excited many, many people."

Staff at New Moms estimated that up to 50 people showed up to volunteer Monday, crediting the president-elect's call for volunteers to fan out in towns and cities across the United States.

"We've never had this many people volunteer on a single day," said Joseph Wright, the shelter's director of development. "This wouldn't have happened without Obama's call going out."

Obama took part in similar activities himself on Monday as he visited a shelter for homeless teens in Washington D.C. He briefly helped volunteers there with painting duties.

Rose, who supported Obama during the campaign, explained that he received an e-mail a few weeks ago from Obama's transition team encouraging him to volunteer Monday -- on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 80th birthday.

A few days later, he found a posting from New Moms on a Web site promoted by Obama, www.usaservice.org, which helps match willing volunteers with service organizations that could use the help.

Once he broached the idea at Roberto Clemente Community Academy, a high school on Chicago's West Side where he teaches history, students and fellow teachers asked if they could join him at the New Moms shelter.

Among the other places where volunteers gathered was at the Jubilee College State Park in Brimfield, Ill., where members of environmental groups helped clear invasive plants from prairie land.

In Chicago, a volunteer group called Knitters for Obama handed over hundreds of knitted hats to cancer patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Hera Yuyla, 24, another teacher from Roberto Clemente who volunteered at the New Moms shelter, said she was confident the spirit of volunteerism won't peter out following an initial surge of enthusiasm.

"The more you help, the more you want to help," Yuyla said.