Be the Change volunteers help sort donated clothes at nonprofit Cradles to Crayons in Boston.

Boston was among several communities taking part in a national day of service to honor the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on Oct. 3.

The event, dubbed "Be the Change," saw 3,000 volunteers take to the streets in a nationwide call to civic action.

Be the Change began in 1997 as a way to acknowledge the words and spirit of Mahatma Gandhi: "You must be the change you wish to see."

The national group South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), in cooperation with the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston, orchestrated the local portion of the event, which is held on or around Gandhi's birthday annually. The Indian political and spiritual leader was born on Oct. 2, 1869.

More than 200 Boston-area volunteers signed up to serve, but about half that number ultimately showed up, most likely due to a steady rain that dampened city streets, making some volunteer projects difficult.

The 100 volunteers, many of them students from Boston's numerous colleges, gathered at the Sullivan & Worcester law firm at One Boston Post Road for an a la carte breakfast and words of encouragement from local community leaders before dispersing for individual assignments.

Keynote speaker Manisha Bhatt, a graduate of Suffolk Law School and an advisory board member for the women's advocacy organization SAHELI, addressed the volunteers.

She spoke of tough economic times that have befallen the country, but said she was buoyed by the event's mission.

"[Despite the troubled times], I see so many things good in the world ... so few times is our human spirit ever reinforced," Bhatt said.

"Your thoughts, actions and speech will come together in rhythmic harmony ... you have no way of measuring the warmth of your smile or the music of your smile," Bhatt said, rousing the otherwise sleepy crowd, who began arriving at Sullivan & Worcester for the Saturday event just before 8:30 a.m.

Numerous student organizations joined forces with the community-at-large in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and more than 50 others, marking what would have been Gandhi's 140th birthday.

Following the opening ceremony, groups headed to various spots to perform community service.

Be the Change volunteers assist at Cradles to Crayons in Boston.

A group of about 16 people, predominantly former and current students from Boston College, Suffolk University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and members of SABA, waded through puddles on their way to the Bird Street Community Center in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

The community center project centered on sprucing up the 105-year-old building with a coat of fresh paint and hauling garbage bags stuffed with trash to a dumpster around the corner.

When they arrived, Be the Change volunteers joined a group of students from South Boston High School, who visited the center in lieu of serving regular Saturday detention.

Among the handful of students participating in Be the Change was 16-year-old South Boston High junior Sadita Barnes, paint roller in hand as she helped transform the center's bland hallways with a cheerful red hue.

Barnes characterized her service as "good for college applications."

Jaqueline Sims, dean of discipline for the school, said she used the spirit of the Be the Change day as a springboard to expose her students to community service acts. In years past, "detentions" also have been held at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Attleboro resident Sayjal Patidar said she started volunteering in high school, a graduation requirement. As she painted another hallway at the center an eggnog white color, the 28-year-old grew philosophical about her reason for joining the Be the Change effort.

"I've always wanted to [be involved with Be the Change] ... I'm just happy I got to do it today. As you get older, your priorities change. You either go outside to play, or you give back," said Patidar.

Rev. Shaun Harrison is a Bird Street Center caseworker. Harrison, who classifies himself as a mentor specialist, has worked at the center for three years. Harrison said he was delighted with Bird Street Center being chosen as a site location for this year's Be the Change call to action, noting that the center received attention from volunteers last year, as well.

The South Asian Bar Association contacted Harrison about putting the center on the roster of Boston-area sites in need of attention.

"This will go a long way with the youth," Harrison said of the freshly painted electric red hallway, adding that that by simply adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls, it made the space "brighter and safer" and gave the kids there a means of "taking ownership" of their home away from home.

Chis Markle, a Northeastern student and member of the Sigma Beta Rho fraternity, volunteers annually for Be the Change.

"We [as a fraternity] like to stay active," Markle said, noting that a condition for every Sigma Beta Rho member, a multi-ethnic fraternity that has "its roots in South Asia," is to commit to at least 20 hours of community service.

A personal sense of responsibility to a lost loved one stirred one volunteer to serve despite the early hour and what she called a sleep deficit brought on by an unyielding school schedule. Nina (who would not give her last name), a woman originally from Philadelphia who now studies math at Northeastern University and belongs to Delta Zeta sorority, memorialized a family friend through her service.

"I actually had a friend whose dad passed away from pancreatic cancer," said Nina, who joined the group that walked for Boston Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk.

Nationwide volunteer efforts fulfilled this year's theme of "giving in action," including restoring a damaged food pantry, constructing homes in Detroit and helping to sift through donations at Crayons to Cradle in Boston, a nonprofit that collects and distributes clothing, toys and school supplies to children.

Other Boston volunteers pitched in at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. A planned Boston Harbor clean-up was postponed (possibly indefinitely) due to inclement weather.