Wet weather did not keep volunteers inside as a record number of community members gathered Monday morning for the fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in Lynnwood.

More than 100 volunteers — most of them students — gathered at the Lynnwood Civic Campus to clean up the Mesika Trail, located behind the Lynnwood City Hall and Senior Center. During the event, sponsored by the Global Peace Foundation and the City of Lynnwood, children, teens and adults cleared invasive plants from the trail. Volunteers then planted trees and other native species along the trail.

In addition to clearing the trail, volunteers cleaned the senior center buses.

The event offers a chance for Edmonds School District students to use their day off from school as a day “on” by giving back to their community. This year, students from across Snohomish County turned out to volunteer. Joining students from Lynnwood, Meadowdale and Edmonds-Woodway high schools were students from Lake Stevens and Kamiak high schools.

The event also kicked off Meadowdale Elementary School’s week of service as students created artwork that will become part of a school mural.

Inspired by King and his words, project coordinator Yoshi Goto encouraged volunteers to keep two things in mind while volunteering — to be changemakers who take pride in action to improve their community and to find commonality with the people they are working with.

Before sending volunteers off to work, Goto read quotes by King highlighting the importance of volunteerism.

“‘Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve,'” he said. “All of you can be great people today, simply because you serve and that’s what service is all about.”

–Story and photo by Cody Sexton