National Day of Service

So what are you doing next Monday?

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He is asking all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.

> Find an Event Near You

> Host Your Own Event

Let Michelle Obama tell you more:




> Visit www.usaservice.gov for More Information

Good Riddance Day

This past Sunday, the 2nd annual Good Riddance Day was held in downtown New York City for the public to "say goodbye, once and for all, to those bad memories of 2008." For an hour, "shredders were stationed on Duffy Square to discard any distasteful, embarrassing and downright depressing memories from 2008."

Organizers said "last year’s inaugural GOOD RIDDANCE DAY was an unqualified success, with scores of people lining up to shred everything from disappointing report cards to CDs with a song they never wanted to hear again to fattening foods they’d sworn to renounce – anything with a bad memory from the previous year."

I really like the cathartic aspect of the event - on the event site (link below), there is a picture of a young girl sharing a list of things she'd like to improve about herself. Another woman said "good riddance" to being single...because she's getting married! How sweet.

> Visit the Official Good Riddance Day Webpage

> Watch Video Clips from the Event (Quicktime format)