WASHINGTON, D.C. — The service fair tent on the National Mall swelled with energy Jan. 19 as volunteers young and old convened to participate in the National Day of Service, an inauguration weekend tradition President Barack Obama initiated to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

The tent housed more than 100 charities and nonprofit organizations that provided hands-on opportunities for volunteers to learn about service and give back to others.

Elon University senior Maddy Carretero recruited volunteers to get involved with Roots & Shoots, a service program for kids founded by Jane Goodall in 1991. The program encourages kids to join together and participate in community service of all kinds. By registering their projects online with the organization, kids have the opportunity to log their hours and receive local media attention. In 2012, Roots & Shoots members logged more than 1 million hours of service, collectively.

“It’s really awesome to see so many kids getting involved in service,” Carretero said. “A lot of people think community service can be frustrating or difficult, but it is so easy if you get together and do it with your friends.”

Sunshine Mail, a faith-based nonprofit founded in 2010, asked volunteers to create hand-made cards for children who are terminally ill, homeless or in foster care. By mid-afternoon, the organization had collected more than 500 cards.

“We provide care packages with things children need, like shampoo, soap and stuffed animals, but we add the cards because it is nice for a child to know they are loved,” said Rebecca Kelly, a volunteer with the organization.

At a neighboring station, volunteers colored bookplates for First Book, a national nonprofit that provides books to children and schools in need. The bookplates were placed on the inside covers of books intended for donation.

“Children who receive the books can then write their names on the plate to show ownership of their brand new book,” said Meghan Kelly, a volunteer with the organization. “It’s a really wonderful thing.”

Martha Friskey, a resident of Bowie, Md., brought her two children, Samantha, 14, and Jacqueline, 12, to participate in the Day of Service. Both children colored several bookplates.

“I think everyone should contribute,” Friskey said. “We are the lucky ones who live in the D.C. area, and we need to give back. Together, we can start a new four years off right.”

Several prominent individuals spoke at the fair throughout the day, including Chelsea Clinton, National Day of Service honorary chair, Eva Longoria, Presidential Inaugural Committee co-chair, and Tammy Duckworth, a congresswoman from Illinois and an Iraq War veteran.

“We are all Americans and we live in a great country,” Duckworth said in her speech. “Because we live here and have the opportunities and choices so many people in other countries don’t have, we have to give something back.”

The fair was one of many events hosted across the country to honor King’s life and legacy through volunteerism and other service projects. King’s birthday —which falls on inauguration weekend — has traditionally been celebrated with a National Day of Service, but Obama was the first to include it in inaugural activities.

Obama urged all Americans to participate in the National Day of Service in several YouTube videos the administration posted recently.

“Inauguration weekend is about more than just celebrating,” he said in a video. “It’s about coming together and giving back to those in need"