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A year ago, Michelle Shapiro Abraham of Scotch Plains listened to First Lady Michelle Obama's call for a day of national service on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Inspired to answer this call of action, Abraham and her husband Rabbi Joel Abraham of Temple Sholom in Scotch Plains helped organize the first annual MLK Day of Service of Scotch Plains/Fanwood, which took place Monday, Jan. 18.

"It's very much a part of Dr. Martin Luther King's vision that we join together as a community to promote social action," Abraham told The Jewish State.

Hundreds of people from the community gathered Monday morning at the JCC of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains to hear opening speeches before separating to volunteer at one of 35 participating organizations.

The daylong event, in which Abraham estimated more than 400 people volunteered, deliberately included groups that focused on serving the Union County area.

Participants were able to choose a variety of service programs with which to volunteer, whether it be making sandwiches for the needy at the We Care Soup Kitchen, helping to clean up the Fanwood Nature Center, or writing letters to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For Joel, the event was both a way to bring the local community together as well as introduce people to organizations in which they would be able to continue to volunteer.

"There are a lot of good organizations that people don't know exist," Joel said. "It's also a way for people to see others from town who are involved in social action."

Sponsored by the Scotch Plains/Fanwood Ministerium, the local interfaith group, as well as the two townships, local community leaders and politicians attended the opening ceremony.

"It's a remarkable example of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King," Assemblywoman Linda Stender (N.J.-22) told The Jewish State. "As I look around the room, I'm proud and grateful that on this national holiday to see people as diverse -- people of different races and creeds -- come together to serve."

Scott Lazare, board president of the JCC, said that the JCC was an especially appropriate place to kick off this community-wide day of service.

"The significance is that the whole community is coming together," Lazare said. "That's what we're about. That's the 'c' in the JCC -- community. In order to promote unity, I can't think of a better place for the Scotch Plains and Fanwood community than the JCC."

Welcoming the packed crowd in the JCC gym were the Abrahams and Stender as well as state Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. (NJ-21), Mayor Nancy Malool of Scotch Plains, and Mayor Colleen Mahr of Fanwood.

"You can always tell a great event when the T-shirts run out," Kean joked in his remarks.

Kean spoke of the role that faith played for King, a Baptist minister, in his leadership of the Civil Rights movement.

"He freed all Americans from an irrational hatred that was hurting us politically, economically, and most importantly spiritually," Kean said.

Malool recounted how Rabbi Abraham called her up one year ago and asked her what the town was planning to do on MLK day. Admitting that she thought of the day mostly as a way to spend time with family and catch up on rest, she answered that there were no town-wide events planned. That is when, Malool said, Michelle Shapiro Abraham decided to spearhead the event.

"I want to thank you for making this a day on and not a day off," Malool said, thanking the participants.

Mahr observed that the event embodied the spirit of its namesake. "The spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King is alive," Mahr said. "It's alive in this room. It's alive because of you. It's alive because of the ministerium. It's alive because of the organizations."

Mahr told the audience to remember how they would each be making a difference in the local community.

"No one can compare to Dr. Martin Luther King, but we can aspire in our own small way," she said.

Speaking last, Rabbi Abraham told the crowd that even though this day of service was just a single day, the message of service and volunteerism should be lived every day.

"Each of us can be great because today and every day, each one of us has an opportunity to serve," he said.

"It's an absolutely wonderful opportunity to bring the entire community together regardless of religion or race," Lou Beckerman, co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, said after the opening program. "It really shows the unity of the community."