Mayor Nutter Leads Swearing-In Ceremony For New Class Of Philadelphia AmeriCorps Members

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --  Hundreds of young adults dedicated to making Philadelphia a better place were sworn in to AmeriCorps, a national program that provides volunteers for community service projects.  Mayor Michael Nutter led this year's volunteers in the AmeriCorps pledge outside City Hall.

Philadelphia has nearly 14-hundred AmeriCorps members staffing more than 20 non-profit programs, addressing education, health and the environment. A widely diverse group, they share an urge to serve.

Jerome: "I love to serve and help out around my community."
Rebecca: "Yeah, we're all here to contribute to that effort and we believe in it."

With the highest poverty rate among large cities, Philadelphia offers a special opportunity to young people who want to improve the world. That's what brought Nick up from Silver Spring, Maryland.

Nick:  "I was tired of waiting for change and I felt like to be a true leader, I had to make change for myself."

The city's chief service officer Katie Wolfgang promised a meaningful year.

"Philadelphia is such an amazing place to serve," she said.  "We are not a bunch of disparate programs. We are one solid strong community."