The event came a day before Obama's second term will begin and two days before his public inauguration at the Capitol, which coincides with the federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader King.
Obama, who took part in a similar event four years ago, hopes to make pre-inaugural volunteering a tradition for his successors.
Addressing a few hundred people in the school gym, Obama said the inauguration "is a symbol of how our democracy works . . . but it should also be an affirmation that we're all in this together."
Earlier Saturday, Biden and his family joined a crowd of volunteers at the D.C. Armory who were boxing up supplies for troops overseas, veterans and first responders
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With his wife, children and grandchildren, the vice president arrived at 10:30 a.m. at the event coordinated by the Points of Light Foundation. The armory was filled with volunteers aiming to pack 100,000 kits, including dental floss, toothbrushes and toothpaste, wipes, bandages, sanitizer and other supplies. Biden packed cotton swabs into boxes.
King instilled "this notion of absolute service," Biden told the crowd. "We have to move back to reaching out to people."
The King holiday has traditionally included a national day of service, but Obama was the first to incorporate it into the official inauguration weekend festivities. Four years ago, he helped paint a wall robin's-egg blue at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a homeless shelter for teens in Southeast.
On Saturday, organizers said more than 250,000 people across the country are expected to take place in service projects in every state.
The signature event was an all-day fair on the Mall featuring speakers such as former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and actress Eva Longoria. There were musical performances and booths to inform people local and national service organizations.
Sunny skies and climbing temperatures, rising to near 50 degrees, enticed people to get outside and participate. But the forecast called for an arctic cold front to move into the region Sunday afternoon, with winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour. Those heading to the Mall or Pennsylvania Avenue to witness Monday's inaugural events were advised to bundle up.
"If you're out early Monday morning, it will be quite cold," said Jason Samenow of The Post's Capital Weather Gang. The day will start with subfreezing temperatures, he said, in the 20s. "By noon, we're looking at 35, 36 degrees." It's also possible, Samenow said, that a few snow flurries could fall Monday afternoon.
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