The idea, officially unveiled 14 years ago, was simple enough: honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by inspiring everyday Americans to service.

President-elect Barack Obama added fuel to the movement this year, using the groundswell that propelled him to the White House to encourage people to get involved, not only on the holiday that honors the civil rights leader but throughout the year.

So it was that Monday morning, in the darkness outside Manual High School, Freddy Perez stood with his brothers, parents and aunt, waiting for free medical care.

It was 6 a.m., and they were the first in a long line of people waiting for the doors to open in two hours.

They were there for the promise of free medical care, everything from mammograms to immunizations and eye examinations to hearing tests.

Aimed at helping those without insurance, the clinic was put on by more than 300 volunteers and medical workers, who administered nearly 500 immunizations and more than 340 dental exams to the more than 1,200 people who visited.

Perez, 19, works construction like his father. He said his parents haven't had medical insurance for many years. While his relatives waited in line for various exams, Perez decided to pitch in. He put on a yellow volunteer shirt and worked at the registration table, translating for Spanish-speaking attendees.

He said he did it "just to help out."

That was the idea - to help out, in the community.

In the Denver area, at least 37 different events were on tap Monday. Knitting for troops in Denver. Gathering food for several agencies across the area. Planning for a community garden in Broomfield.

The imagination, it seemed, was the only limitation on the projects - at the University of Colorado, the College Democrats handed out free condoms.

But the bulk of the efforts involved volunteers.

Mike Thein, who was homeless for three years, is a staple at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, serving food to the hungry and poor. Monday, surrounded by scores of new helpers, he was there again.

"I think it's good as long as they keep doing it, even if it's not here," he said. "And as long as they're doing it for the right reasons. Martin Luther King Jr. said it right . . . everybody needs to work together and as long as that happens, things will be fine."

The idea caught on all over the place.

Kathy Nemmers is a veteran at donating blood, but Monday's return visit - her 43rd - had an extra special kick to it.

"I'd follow Obama into a fire," said the 45-year-old, who works at REI. "It was time for me to donate anyway again so I packed everything into one."

At the Jeffco Action Center in Lakewood, the father-son duo of Dave and Ben Reilly worked side by side, digging a drainage ditch to prevent flooding and icing problems in the parking lot.

"It's cool to see change happening in our country," said Ben Reilly, 14, a ninth-grader at George Washington High School.

"It feels good to help out and be part of it."

Rocky staff writers Myung Oak Kim, Jean Torkelson, April M. Washington, and David Montero contributed to this story.