Community service projects done Monday throughout the nation in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service doubled this year, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Sandy Scott, a spokesman for the corporation, said a record turnout of more than 12,000 service projects, up from 5,000 last year, was expected nationwide.

He said President-elect Obama’s call of service made in a speech in January is the cause of this record turnout.

“President-elect Obama has made Day of Service the centerpiece of the inauguration,” Scott said. “We’re at a peaking point, possibly, for engaging more Americans in serving their communities all year-round.”

The MLK Celebration at Arizona State University and the ASU Community Service Program hosted one of many services done across the nation on Monday.

About 200 students gathered at Garfield Neighborhood near the Downtown Campus in Phoenix to participate in a service project celebrating Martin Luther King.

Volunteers spent the morning improving the appearance of the neighborhood by painting a home and getting rid of litter and debris.

They also informed residents about tax preparation, home ownership and the ASU College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation’s five nonprofit Nurse-Managed Health Care.

Mina Ahmad, coordinator for this event, said the two organizations wanted to give students a chance to impact a local community that is close to one of ASU’s four campuses.

“As a part of ASU’s goal to be socially embedded in the community around it, we thought that doing service in this area was important,” Ahmad said in an e-mail.

Ahmad believes Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service gives students a chance to come together and strengthen their communities.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. always preached that service to others could strengthen communities,” Ahmad said in an email. “As students volunteer, they can honor his legacy and celebrate his life work by doing something that Dr. King truly believed in.”

Kasey Ann Stevens, 21, a senior majoring in Political Science, was among the volunteers. She said a lot of people miss the community outreach part of King’s movement.

“People mostly think about his (King’s) civil rights movement, and they don’t remember how active he was in doing community service,” Stevens said.

Freshman Emylda Kuac, 18, a music education and performance major, agreed. She said people do not realize what the Day of Service is for.

“I think people see it as just another day off,” Kuac said. “People need to reflect on what the day is for and do what Martin Luther King would want you to do.”

Naveed Shan, 22, a senior majoring in psychology and chemistry, said he decided to honor King by attending the event and volunteering his time.

“He did so much for his community and for the nation itself,” Shan said. “The very least we can do is educate minorities and give back.”

It is a coincidence in the calendar that the nation honors Martin Luther King Jr. a day before the first African American president is sworn into office.

Sarah Romero, 22, a senior majoring in Psychology, was in charge of cleaning up the neighborhood. She believes the coincidence is just right.

“Tuesday is a perfect timing for Obama’s inauguration because I think in our culture, having an African American being elected as president right after honoring Martin Luther King is as good as it gets,” Romero said. “It shows the significance of how we’re starting to look past race.”

Even though Scott believes King would be happy with the progress the nation has accomplished, he believes King’s dream is not yet fulfilled.

“Dr. King dreamed of a nation where the content of your character mattered more than the color of your skin so he would be very pleased with the progress our country has made, but he wouldn’t say that the inauguration of Barack Obama means that the dream is completely fulfilled because there is still millions of Americans living in poverty and 15 million kids that need mentors,” Scott said.

In the future, Scott hopes Obama will continue to encourage Americans to get involved and help out those millions of Americans in need.

The Arizona PIRG chapter at ASU, a student-run organization who deals with issues of concern to the public, also took part in doing community service on Monday. PIRG joined with the Governor Janet Napolitano’s office and the MLK Celebration Committee to give a tour of the Lodestar Resource Center, a homeless shelter in Phoenix, to raise awareness about the homeless.

Jason Donofrio, chapter chair for Arizona PIRG, said PIRG wants to shine a light on the homeless so that people can help implement solutions to solve this issue.

“We really want to send the message of helping people help themselves,” Donofrio said. “It’s about finding out why people are homeless in society and how we can help them succeed in society.”

Donofrio said PIRG will be working on a campaign this semester called “Hunger and Homeless” to help raise awareness of 18 to 24-year-old homeless people.

Reach the reporter at Griselda.Nevarez@asu.edu.