ST. LOUIS,MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
11 o'clock Tuesday morning, he will be our new president. Barack Obama was already having quite an impact on St. Louis Monday night, with people here answering his national call to serve, before he even took office.At St. Louis University, the "Campus Kitchen" program was full of new faces.
Sophomore Campus Kitchen volunteer, Samiksha Tarun, of Naperville, IL, decided to post a call for the National Day of Service Obama's web site.
"It's so easy to say things. Everyone can say volunteering is good but then actually going out and doing it, that makes a huge difference," she said.
About 10 new volunteers showed up to cook and package meals with food donated from area stores and campus food service, then deliver them to low-income St. Louis residents on Inauguration Day.
"I love Obama," Tarun laughed.
She said he was an inspiration: the day before the biggest day of his life, he volunteered to paint at Sasha Bruce house, an emergency shelter for teens in the nation's capital, his wife helped with care packages for troops overseas; the President-Elect noted Americans were participating in at least 11,000 ongoing service projects, answering his call to make a commitment to service, not just on this day.
"Don't underestimate the power of people who join together to accomplish amazing things," Obama said.
Mark Lodes was amazed someone saw his idea on the internet for a Day of Service project and actually showed up. Carl Smith, from Clayton, came to Overland, to help Lodes pick up litter around the neighborhood.
"We wanted to something, even if it's somewhat of a token or small thing," Smith said. "It seems like a good idea and the fact that Obama was [out there] painting."
"It's a beginning to some positive change, in the right direction, even on a small scale. A bag full of recyclables is no longer scattered out here on my block. And he helped me. Who's next, next year ?" Lodes said. "He's telling us that it's up to us. Yeah, we voted him for him, he's president, but what can he do without us ?"
"He's been saying this call to service isn't just a one-day thing. It's more of a commitment for a long period of time. You don't make a change 'one day'," Tarun said.
Though Obama seems to want to establish a Martin Luther King Day tradition of service, there are other events planned in the coming days in the St. Louis area.
