The seventh annual January jobs fair at the St. Frances Academy Community Center in East Baltimore had its largest turnout ever, with nearly double the number of job-seekers from previous years. Five hundred and fifty-five men and women walked through a winter blast on Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, to get a warm meal and some advice on writing a resume and applying for jobs - and to meet with representatives of companies willing to hire them.
With unemployment growing in the midst of recession, it's no surprise that an urban jobs fair, particularly one for people with limited education and skills, would set a record for attendance.
But 125 volunteers! A record number of men and women turned out to help the unemployed in some way. Now that was surprising.
And thrilling.
It was a big week for America, with the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday. But Monday, the busiest King Day of Service yet, carried its own sense of history: hundreds of thousands of Americans, reportedly more than ever in some cities, heeding Mr. Obama's call to volunteer for a day. Organized service events across the country doubled to more than 12,000 this year, according to the government agency that tracks them. For the first time since 15 years ago, when Congress attached doing good to it, King Day seemed to have some kind of seismic impact. It was an exciting day, rich with inspiring stories. Combined with the call for a "new era of responsibility" in his inaugural address, Mr. Obama's MLK Day pitch seemed to prime the country for the national service he promised as a candidate.
Mr. Obama wants to expand AmeriCorps, currently turning away applicants, from 75,000 to 250,000 slots. He wants to double the Peace Corps to 16,000 by 2012. He wants to expand YouthBuild to give 50,000 poor kids a chance to finish high school and pick up skills while building affordable housing in their communities. For college students, Mr. Obama has proposed a $4,000 annual tax credit for 100 hours of public service a year.
That's all good stuff, but Mr. Obama could be even bolder. He should connect national service with his economic recovery plan.
If that doesn't happen, the new president could squander a historic opportunity to tap into a national need and desire for public service, says Steven Waldman, the editor of the religious Web site Beliefnet.com.
