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Prince George's County hosts first county-wide 'Day of Service' to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

More than 1,000 PG County residents participates in projects that honored the Reverend's legacy of service.

ADELPHI, Md. — At least 1200 students and families turned out Monday for events in Prince George's County, which declared MLK Day a community-wide day of service to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

"We're kind of imitating him," Aden Richardson, a junior at High Point High School, said.  "We're saying that 'we care' and that 'we're here to help.'" 

Richardson was among a group of students who were assembling comfort kits to be shipped to victims of the recent earthquake disaster in Puerto Rico.

Organizers from the Latin American Youth Center and PG County's Office of Community Relations staged large events at three county schools focused on community service.

Credit: wusa9

In addition to assembling comfort kits for earthquake victims and the community's homeless and elderly population, students and families participated in workshops on preventing human trafficking, stopping bullying and community health.

"We now understand that service was at the core of who he was," Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who declared the county-wide day of service, said. "And if we want to celebrate, the best way to do that is to demonstrate to our kids what he said, which is everybody can be great, because anyone can serve."

RELATED: National Cathedral excerpts 'Letter From a Birmingham Jail' in special service ahead of MLK Day

RELATED: 'Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope' | MLK Memorial brings famous speech to life

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