WASHINGTON, DC (PIC)--In honor of Washington D.C.'s role as host of the Inauguration, we invited local students and parents to join in the festivities by watching the 56th Inaugural Parade from a viewing stand near the White House. We asked parents to submit their children's responses to the question, "How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?"

After reviewing hundreds of essays, we're pleased to announce that the first students who have been selected to attend the Parade are James and Tyrone Coleman. With the support of their mother Janine, these brothers wrote moving essays about local service.

According to Janine, James, 13, is a talkative, busy person, who stays active and "loves games." He shared why service is personally important to him and his family:

Community Service means more to me now after the three house fires that put my family of 10 people in a hotel three years in a row. Each time the Red Cross helped us with food and clothing. My church, family and friends took the kids shopping and checked on us a lot. I never thought people would help us like they did. My mom always volunteers us to help others and now I know why. I have witnessed how helping others will eventually come back to you because my mother always said that what goes around comes around.

Tyrone, 11, is laid back and careful, according to his mother, and he loves to read. He listed specific ways he plans to get involved:

I can contribute to my neighborhood through community service by first writing my congressman or congresswoman to ask for more signs to be put out so young people will know not to litter. I can help my community by reporting suspicious activities in my neighborhood to an adult or police. I will volunteer more to help others so that it will come back to me. I will plant more trees every time a tree falls near my home or school. I will also report vacant buildings near my school that need fixing. I will keep helping others, in my family, at church and school.

President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden strongly believe that local action is the first step towards affecting nationwide change. They are spearheading a national effort to Renew America Together, starting with a day of service timed to coincide with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 19th, the day before the Inauguration.

Janine embodies the spirit of this effort, as she teaches James, Tyrone and her six other children that service should not be a sporadic activity but a fixture in our lives, as we work together to restore the promise of our country. She says:

This is what I teach them on a normal basis. I try to instill in them a desire to give back. I tell them, "Never tell me that you can't do anything. You can do anything you want to do." Look at Obama, and look at this Inauguration. Everybody in the nation can come together no matter your color, beliefs, or how money you have. I'm hoping they're taking it all in, so they can tell their kids one day.

Encourage your children to submit an essay about service in your community. The deadline is this Sunday, and we'll be selecting many more students in the coming days to attend the 56th Inaugural Parade.