Volunteers knock on doors for Barack in New Hampshire

Despite the chilly and wet weather, hundreds of Barack Obama supporters engaged in an unusually early voter canvas in New Hampshire Saturday.

Some 554 supporters, a large number for this primary state, targeted six strongly Democratic neighborhoods going door to door with Obama's message.

The campaign also prepares to hold the first Camp Obama training sessions at the Chicago headquarters. The effort will introduce young volunteers to grassroots campaigning including phone banking and precinct walking.

Speaking to students at a New Hampshire high school Saturday that they needed to build character after graduting.

"There's often an assumption on days like today that growing up is purely a function of age, that becoming an adult is an inevitable progression that can be measured by a series of milestones _ college graduation or your first job or the first time you throw a party where you also serve food," Obama said.

"And yet, maturity does not come from any one occasion. It emerges as a quality of character."