Volunteers Coming to La Mesa Vons for National Day of Service Event

The Vons grocery store in La Mesa will be a local Ground Zero for area residents answering President Barack Obama’s call to action Saturday in the National Day of Service.

According to spokeswoman Katie Meyer, volunteers by the dozens will help collect food for Mama’s Kitchen by gathering at the Vons in the La Mesa Springs shopping center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The store is at 8011 University Ave., near City Hall.

A second Day of Service event in La Mesa is collection of new and “gently worn” coat donations at the Burlington Coat Factory at 7938 El Cajon Blvd. The coats will be given to the homeless.

They Vons volunteers are among an expected hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country in volunteer service in the run-up to Monday’s presidential inauguration.

“Continuing a tradition the First Family began four years ago, Inauguration weekend will begin with a National Day of Service that honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Meyer, a volunteer with the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Volunteers have planned a day of service that will leverage the strength of local citizens to help tackle local problems and advance Dr. King’s dream of opportunity for all, she said in a news release.

Mama’s Kitchen, based in City Heights, provides food to AIDS and cancer patients throughout San Diego County. A large portion of its food comes from food drives such as this one. Volunteers will donate food and encourage others to do the same.

For more information on the National Day of Service please visit www.2013pic.org/service or contact the Presidential Inaugural Committee at press@2013pic.org.