“I Pledge Philly” asking for public promises to improve city

The “I Pledge” campaign encourages people to commit to make Philadelphia a better city. Mayor Michael Nutter said people are being asked to pledge via Twitter and Facebook.

“You can pledge one’s time to fight violence, you can pledge an hour five hours 10 hours a month for community service, you can pledge to mentor a young person, you can pledge to get to know your neighbors and on and on and on,” said Nutter.

Bilal Qayuum of Men United for a Better Philadelphia said the goal is to work together to cut violence in the city. He made his appeal using a religious verse.

“In the Holy Quran it said if you take the life of one person you take the life of the whole community, if you save the life of one person you save the life of the entire community,”  Qayuum said.

So far, people are pledging everything from combatting hunger with community gardens to increasing the number of high school and college graduates in Philadelphia.