Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama followed up his “call to service” for Americans with a day spent visiting wounded troops, helping to paint walls at a shelter for teenagers and meeting with volunteers at a Washington high school.

Obama invoked the memory of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on the national holiday that honors him to spur more people to take on service projects and join in helping confront the nation’s problems.

“Government can only do so much,” Obama told the volunteers assembled at Coolidge Senior High School. “We’re going to have to take responsibility -- all of us.”

The words were part of the theme of celebrations and events leading up to Obama’s inauguration tomorrow as the nation’s 44th president. Obama, 47, used an extensive mailing list compiled during his presidential campaign to help spur Americans to take on more than 11,000 projects throughout the country as a way of marking the King holiday.

The president-elect began the day by visiting 14 wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He then helped in the renovation of a Sasha Bruce Youthwork home.

“Don’t underestimate the power for people to join together and to accomplish amazing things,” said Obama, who worked alongside Martin Luther King III at the emergency shelter for teenagers, which also provides counseling and job training.

Care Packages

Obama’s wife, Michelle, and Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President-elect Joe Biden, brought their daughters this morning to Washington’s Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and helped make care packages for the troops.

Working on the assembly line, Michelle Obama handed bottles of 45 SPF sun block to volunteers walking by with care package bags; Jill Biden gave out foot lotion. Both women smiled and greeted people as they came by.

Tonight, the two wives host a concert for children at Washington’s Verizon Center. Obama is attending three dinners honoring Americans “whose lifetime of public service has been enhanced by a dedication to bipartisan achievement,” according to the inaugural committee.

Obama first honored the man he defeated in November, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.

‘American Hero’

“I am here tonight to say a few words about an American hero,” Obama said in his remarks. “On this night we are glad that the days of rebuttals and campaigning are behind us. In a great democracy, this debate is both healthy and necessary.”

Obama also is paying tribute tonight to former Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell, and Biden, a longtime Delaware senator.

As Obama supporters took part in community projects and prepared for the inauguration, President George W. Bush’s team took care of some of its final pieces of business.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush, with Obama’s support, named Defense Secretary Robert Gates as the Cabinet member who will remain in a safe place away from tomorrow’s Inauguration Day festivities. Gates, who is staying in his post to serve Obama, will take part in a tradition designed to preserve the continuity of government in the case of disaster.

Farewell Calls

Bush also made farewell calls to global leaders, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy.

The festivities leading up to the inauguration of Obama as the nation’s first black president have been infused with history. Yesterday’s two-hour concert took place at the memorial to Abraham Lincoln, the president who led the U.S. through the Civil War and ended slavery. It was the same site chosen by King for his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech.

“Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King, and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character’s content,” Obama told the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial. “And behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible.”

During his remarks, Obama referenced the staggering economy, saying he knows Americans are struggling with lost jobs and rising bills. Still, he said he remains “as hopeful as ever” about the future of the nation.

“The true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard,” Obama said. “I ask you to help reveal that character once more.”

Confidence

Many of the people at yesterday’s “We Are One” event, some of whom traveled hundreds of miles, said they have confidence in Obama even as they recognize the challenges.

“We as a people can do and be anything that we put our mind to,” said Carla Owens Martin, 40, a day-care provider from Rochester, New York. “I’m hoping he can turn this economy around and just make the world a better place.”

Her friend, Sharon Davis, 38, said she and Martin were excited to see people from all walks of life coming together. “I had to be here to feel it -- for my kids’ kids to say grandma was part of the movement.”

People who attended said they were hopeful and realistic about the work that Obama will do as president.

“He’s got a difficult road ahead of him,” said Mike Martin, 31, a doorman from New York City. “He’s leading us to see the hope in our hearts, not some miraculous hope that comes out of nowhere. To have this coming from such a high place, it’s like a big bear hug.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net; Hans Nichols in Washington at hnichols2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 19, 2009 20:10 EST