The election fever of 2008 spilled over into Española’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, as former campaign volunteers heeded President Barack Obama’s call to a national day of service.
“We were inspired by our soon-to-be president,” Lyden resident Mary Parsaca said. “Being the change you want to see is a very real slogan.”
Parsaca sported a pink Obama baseball hat Monday while painting the short brick wall that surrounds the toddler-sized playground in Valdez Park in Española. Alongside Parsaca was Tana Beverwyk-Abouda, of Nambé, who wore an “Obama mama” shirt.
Both women said it was their first time volunteering on M.L.K. Day. Beverwyk-Abouda said they had the day off from their jobs at El Centro Family Health, and the project’s location was very mom-friendly for her and her two young children.
“The thought of having a day of service is a very positive thing,” she said.
In all, more than a dozen volunteers gathered at the playground, known as Venessa’s Hideaway, to present a new plaque, spruce up the paint, and rake a large load of new sand over the play area.
The playground was built by community volunteers 15 years ago to commemorate the life of Venessa Valerio, a 10-year-old girl who was murdered in her home. The playground last received a new paint job nearly a decade ago, and much of its equipment is in severe disrepair.
“It’s been 15 years since we built it,” Venessa’s mother Annette Valerio-Atencio said. “It’s been long in coming.”
Monday marked the kick-off date for a new fund-raising effort aimed at replacing or restoring all the equipment, Rio Arriba County Health and Human Service Department Lauren Reichelt said. Through Reichelt’s office, taxpayers bought the paint for the clean-up day.
The playground volunteers also helped fill the pews Monday morning at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, the site of an annual M.L.K. Day event organized by Sombrillo residents Cecil and Edith Brown.
Edith Brown said she’s excited because she always wanted more community organization and involvement. She said Obama’s election has helped raise awareness around the event.
“I think it’s changed people’s reaction — a little more community participation than in the past,” Brown said. “More people are realizing that a day off is not just a holiday.”
In the event’s keynote address, University of New Mexico—Los Alamos Executive Director Cedric Page described concrete ways of instilling volunteerism in younger generations, including college service-learning curricula and support for student internships in the surrounding communities.
Page also made note of the day’s playground clean-up, which he said he learned about through Obama’s still-active campaign web site. If such efforts continue, next year there will be even more energy focused on service opportunities during M.L.K. Day, he said.
“It doesn’t diminish the things Dr. King was about,” Page said. “It underscores a very important aspect of his life.”
Mateo Peixinho, who is coordinating the volunteer efforts, said the post-campaign group began brainstorming ideas at a post-election house party he held at the suggestion of the Obama campaign. The campaign has maintained contact with its massive online social network, and sent out a message in early December urging supporters to organize grassroots meetings.
Although the group doesn’t have a formal structure yet, it has already organized subcommittees to address environmental, health care and educational issues, Peixinho said.
Volunteer Carol Guzman said the group has had about 45 people at each meeting. Since Obama visited Española during the campaign, they’re hoping Obama will establish one of his permanent field offices in the city, Guzman said.