Hundreds gather in Oakland to honor MLK Day of Service

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Many people around the Bay Area are spending Martin Luther King Jr. Day by volunteering in their community.[br /][br /]In Oakland, hundreds came out to the [url HREF="http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/" TARGET="" REL=""]Gardens at Lake Merritt[/url] to honor of the civil rights leader as part of the national MLK Day of Service.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/news/photos-bay-area-honors-martin-luther-king-jr-day-/1164156/" TARGET="" REL=""]PHOTOS: Bay Area honors Martin Luther King, Jr. Day [/url][/b][br /][post ID="1164156" /][br /][br /][br /]Many of the volunteers are participating by cleaning up some of the city's parks and gardens.[br /][Ads /][br /]"These gardens will be clean and beautiful for people to come and see them," said 9-year-old volunteer Olympia Pagolutos-Chavez.[br /][br /]"There's no dedicated staff to these gardens," explained Tora Rocha, with Oakland's Public Works department. She says the volunteers are vital.[br /][br /][b]WATCH VIDEO: [url HREF="http://abc7news.com/society/recording-of-dr-mlks-1964-nobel-prize-lecture-released/1163922/[br /]" TARGET="" REL=""]Recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 Nobel Prize lecture released[/url][/b][br /][br /][br /]"We're pesticide and herbicide free, so it takes a lot of human pulling weeds hours to keep it beautiful," she said.[br /][br /]Donald Cooper came out with friends to help do their part in keeping their city clean.[br /][br /]"It's civic participation. You have to win civil rights, but then once you have the rights you have the responsibility to participate, so that's what we're doing today," said Cooper.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/news/photos-the-legacy-of-martin-luther-king-jr/1163793/" TARGET="" REL=""]PHOTOS: The legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. [/url][/b][br /][post ID="1163793" /][br /][br /][br /][b]For a list of MLK Day of Service events where you live, [url HREF="http://www.volunteermatch.org/seasonsofservice/mlkday/" TARGET="" REL=""]click here[/url].[/b][br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/tag/martin-luther-king-jr/" TARGET="" REL=""]Click here[/url] to see how Dr. King is being honored here in the Bay Area and across the country.[/b][br /]