THE US has never seen such a coming together of the great and the good to pledge an all out effort to help some of the 15 million children who are judged "at risk" on the fringes of America's affluence.
President Clinton and Vice President Gore are being joined here by former Presidents Bush, Carter and Ford, and Ms Nancy Reagan, representing her Alzheimer's stricken husband, to launch a national crusade to save at least two million needy children from the dangers of drugs, violent crime and illness.
The statistics are grim. Some three million youngsters are abused each year; teen suicides have doubled; teen pregnancies are up by 25 per cent in recent years; and half a million teenagers are said to be members of gangs involved in crime.
The conference got under way with 4,000 volunteers cleaning up an eight mile stretch of German town Avenue running through a rundown area of north Philadelphia. A helping hand was offered by President Clinton and other celebrities like TV chat show host Oprah Winfrey, John Travolta and the local Eagles football team.
The volunteer summit is being chaired by the man who is probably the US's most inspirational and charismatic figure, Gen Colin Powell. He is determined that the summit will not be just another talkfest but will yield definite pledges of support from corporate America, represented here by several hundred chief executive officers.
Also in Philadelphia for the summit are 30 state governors numerous mayors, heads of charities, clergy and 4,500 delegates from volunteer bodies. More than 1,000 media representatives will ensure the summit's message goes out to the nation, and they are being asked to contribute to the cost of installations so that every cent can be devoted to the drive for volunteers.
Volunteerism is a great American tradition going back to the time of the Founding Fathers and life on a dangerous frontier when communities had to stay together to survive. It is no accident that the summit is taking place in Philadelphia, "city of brotherly love", and spread over hallowed institutions of American history such as Independence Hall.
Gen Powell has already received an impressive amount of pledges from some of the country's biggest corporations, like AT&T, IBM, CocaCola, Time Warner, Honeywell and Walt Disney. One of the most valuable ways they can contribute is not by handing over cash but by releasing employees to mentor or tutor children in need during company time although purists sac this is not really volunteering".
Gen Powell has been criss crossing the country preaching that "the threat is young people who are disengaged from American life, who don't believe in the American dream." People listen to a man who embodies this dream by overcoming poverty and the colour of his skin to rise to the highest position in the armed forces and to lead the victorious coalition in the Gulf War.
He is insisting on concrete results from the conference. The aim is that two million children will be taken out of the "at risk" category by 2000. This means - that five "basic needs will have to be met."
These are: adult mentors for one on one contact: safe places to go after school: adequate health care; job skills: and opportunities for the young people to make their own contribution to their communities.
Volunteerism is big in America. Over 90 million people contribute 20 billion hours a year in voluntary service but much of this is done in their own often middle class neighbourhoods, in coaching sports teams - minding playgrounds, etc.
What is needed is for the volunteers to be ready to go into deprived areas and mentor or tutor children in reading and other skills on a one to one basis. The summit will be judged on how successful it is in this respect.