THE REV. MARTIN Luther King Jr. would have been proud.

Legions of high-schoolers, elected and city officials — Mayor Nutter, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers andPennsylvania's first lady, Judge Midge Rendell — social-service providers and nonprofit organizations descended on Germantown High School and other sites in the city yesterday,all paying homage to King's vision of multicultural inclusiveness and charity.

"It's refreshing to see all these young people actively engaged and involved," said Nutter, who joined in the annual Martin Luther King Day of Service, helping the group Cradle to Crayons as it packed clothes and other items for needy families.

"It shows that when asked and when encouraged, young people will stand up and do the right thing," Nutter said.

"Our challenge as adults is to make sure we give these young people those opportunities every day, not just on King Day."

One teen embracing King's vision of charity was Elise Mercier, 17, a senior at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr.

"I always loved service and giving back," said Mercier, who became involved with Cradle to Crayons when the nonprofit organization sent out an area-wide call for volunteers.

"It's really about connecting people with access to those who don't have that type of access."

Bilal Qayyum, co-chairman of the nonviolence grassroots initiative Men United for a Better Philadelphia, said the Day of Service can connect people from disparate backgrounds.

"You see white, black, Latino, young and old working together. This is really a multicultural event," Qayyum said. "This needs to happen every day. Hopefully, the organizers can kick off a theme where this is planned and done weekly."

The activities at Germantown High were the signature event of the 13th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. The event's founder, Todd Bernstein, called it a "day of celebration."

"We have thousands of volunteers from hundreds of groups participating," Bernstein said. "The most important thing is the holistic approach to nonviolence and service."

Indeed, charitable works were on display and in motion throughout Germantown High.

Peachtree & Ward Catering, which is based in Willow Grove and has participated in the Day of Service for 10 years, was baking 300 sweet-potato pies to be distributed to five shelters.

"All of the ingredients were donated from our suppliers," said company official Derek Denmead.

"We want people in need to know that on Martin Luther King Day, you can get a home-cooked meal."

Maggie Norrett, volunteer manager of Cradles to Crayons, said that the items it collected will benefit more than 200 needy families.

But, she said, charity is only one segment of the observance. It also reinforces King's philosophy of nonviolence while encouraging youths to get involved in more positive endeavors.

Toward that end, students from the Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice turned the second floor of Germantown High into the Civil Rights Museum, complete with audiovisual elements and rooms converted into small think tanks.

"Our kids are engaged and focused not only on our country, but the world," said Parkway Principal Ethyl McGee, as she stood in front of positive-message buttons her students created as part of a fundraiser. "We want to get the idea out that there's power in peace.

"It seems like such a radical idea — to get kids to think about peaceful mediation."

Although McGee said that she didn't require any of her 280 students to come, 17-year-old Kenneth Sparks said he wouldn't dare miss this Day of Service.

"This is a great thing to do," Sparks said. "[Volunteering] makes a difference, when younger guys see older guys doing it, guys that they may look up to. This really helps; [the youth] could have been anywhere, but they are here, representing peace."

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program contributed to the peace offering with a sweeping, three-panel mural inside the school.

The mural, "Beloved Community," features hands forming Germantown Avenue and then a tree, with the trunk bearing an image of King and an image of Gandhi on one of the branches.

"The challenge is to live up to King's words and legacy year-round," said mural-arts director Jane Golden.

Police Commissioner Ramsey said he, too, would like to see the day's energy converted into more than a once-a-year charity binge.

"It would be nice to see it 365 days a year," he said. "One day is good and we're certainly grateful for that, but the same kind of spirit and energy has to carry over. "It's a reminder for the youths and for everybody of the way things are today. Even though it's once a year, it's a good, strong reminder about the legacy of Dr. King, what he stood for."

Halfway across town, City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown was busy emphasizing another of King's issues: the preservation of young black lives.

Reynolds Brown, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and state Rep. Vincent Hughesoperated a "Goods for Guns" program out of the YMCA at Broad and Master streets.

The plan, according to Reynolds Brown, was to get as many guns off the streets as possible — "no questions asked."

"This is the third effort of this type, and we're making a dent, because mothers, fathers want these guns out of their house," Reynolds Brown said, noting that the early-afternoon tally was 75 guns and she expected many more. Those turning in guns received a voucher good at area Forman Mills and ShopRite stores.

"The majority of citizens care about violence, and that's the good news," Reynolds Brown said. "We are searching and doing our small part. We need your time, talent or treasure; all three count."

Later in the afternoon, Gov. Rendell and Nutter were among the public officials at the 26th annual Awards and Benefit Luncheon sponsored by the Philadelphia Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Nonviolence at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, 16th and Vine streets.

Rendell used the platform to say that he will work to honor King's memory by trying to get his "Prescription for Pennsylvania" health plan through the Legislature.

It would provide affordable health insurance to all residents of the state.

Rendell told the crowd that there were "almost a million" adults in the state with no health insurance.

"Dr. King would find it a disgrace that in the year 2008" so many people aren't covered by health insurance.

Nutter spoke about crime, saying violence would be reduced if young people received a quality education and realized they had a future. He decried the city's 45 percent school-dropout rate and 18 percent college-graduation rate.

"If we could inverse those numbers and we had a dropout rate of just 18 percent and a college-attainment rate of 45 percent, can you imagine the kind of city we would have?" Nutter asked. *

Staff writer Valerie Russ contributed to this report.