It's being called a "day of service."
So, with no classes on the holiday, some UF students made sure to get out there and serve.
The Public Interest Research Group at UF collected cans of food to give to food banks.
This was just one of the 11,000 projects across the nation to honor Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy of service to others.
And volunteers on campus say UF students could have a major impact if everyone helped out.
"Since the university has over 50,000 students, if all the students could get out and get involved can you imagine what a different it would make," Deidra Slough, volunteer, said.
President-Elect Barack Obama named today a day of service...and he visited 14 service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Later, he helped with a renovation project at a youth homeless shelter.
For these students... they went to Countryside Apartments in Southwest Gainesville to collect food.
This is a kick-off to many community projects for the group this semester.
Residents searched their cabinets for something to give.
Throughout the complex, neighbors say they were happy to help.... and that projects like these should be done every day.
"We live each day, we require each day, so we should be looking out for each other everyday," Judith White said.