via zimbio.com

While the rest of America was enjoying their day off yesterday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and preparing for today's epic Inauguration Day, Usher was at school... volunteering.

The sexy singer praised and encouraged 200 students and volunteers while they repainted walls and built two new libraries at Simon Elementary School in Washington D.C-- a school with a high dropout rate. On behalf of MTV's Be the Change and ServiceNation, Usher helped out with handshakes, kind words, and lighthearted jokes to lift the children's spirits and instill within them a sense of accomplishment.

"You notice that I'm not focusing on the [Inaugural] celebration," Usher told People, "I'm focusing on the work, because that's what it's about." And if anyone knows about working with kids particuarly, it sure is Usher, whose non-profit New Look Foundation gives underprivileged children leadership training.

It certainly is nice to see that President Obama's national call to action has already had a meaningful effect in the life of Usher!!