To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

RALEIGH -- For many, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day off from work and school. For some, that frees up time to give back to the community and honor the spirit of the holiday.

The Coles’ family is one of those giving back. They and other volunteers spent time Monday sprucing up the gym at the Raleigh Boys Club.

"I told my girls it's so important,” said mother Sydney Coles. “It's always important to give back to the community in any way possible. And today we just had the opportunity to give back, on Martin Luther King Day."

Most of the volunteers at the gym were kids who were eager to talk about the man whom their efforts stood to honor.

"He wanted a lot of equality,” said volunteer, Torin Edwards, of Dr. King. “And he wanted people to treat each other like brothers and sisters and for them to just act nicely to each other and for them to treat each other like they want to be treated."

The Raleigh Boys Club project was part of the United Way's fifth annual MLK Day of Service. The organization and 1,200 volunteers took on several projects in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties.

• In Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College students who could have spend the day off from classes just hanging out instead opted to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision by spending the day working.

Through the MLK Challenge, the students split into groups and performed service projects at various agencies across the area.

Each group was given $100 in seed money for their service project. Part of their challenge was to determine how to best spend that money.

• In Winston-Salem, the Northwest Piedmont Service Corp used the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday to celebrate its 20th year of community service.

The at-risk teens and young adults that make up the group helped clean the historically black Odd Fellows Cemetery on Monday. The site was in desperate need of repair with several graves sinking into the ground.

For some volunteers, the project really hit close to home.

"I talked to my mom about what we were doing up here, and she told me that my great-great-grandmother was buried up here along with a brother that she had, he was buried up here as well,” said Toma Banner, a crew leader. “So this became personal to me today, so I get a great reward out of doing this today."

The Northwest Piedmont Service Corps helps at-risk youth and young adults gain work experience and offers them educational opportunities. The group is the only active service corps in the state.

• In Jacksonville, Onslow County high school students spent part of their day off Monday giving back to the community.

Members of the Jacksonville Youth Council held a brief ceremony in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Afterward, they hit the streets as part of a service project in conjunction with the national day of service.

The students picked up trash on a main street in Jacksonville as a way to beautify the community.

"Martin Luther King, he lived his life for service and the fact that they understand the importance on a day they didn't have to go to school is just a wonderful tribute and honor to him,” said Carmella Fulcher, community program coordinator.

The Jacksonville Youth Council has been taking part in the day of service since 1999.

• In Wilmington, leaders joined hands to honor King in a parade that saw hundreds lining the streets. Many were there as a tribute to King’s “Beloved Community.”

Posters and banners with that theme were found up and down the parade route. For some, King is a hero. For others, he is an inspiration. But all who spoke with News 14 Carolina at the parade say they share King’s dream.

More than 120 units participated in the parade.