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A More Perfect Union

Officer becomes young man's unlikely father figure

Daniel Rodriguez's father was incarcerated for most of his childhood, so a California cop took him under his wing

How 2 N.J. women are giving a declining neighborhood a makeover

In a southern New Jersey community, Shirley Johnson and Carolyn Grace, are inspiring younger residents to clean up their town

Louisiana's teacher of the year brought to tears by students' letters

Kimberly Eckert started a tradition of writing personal letters to students to let them know how much they mean to her, and now they're returning the favor

Young students' imaginations come to life with help of Hollywood pros

A nationwide mentoring program encourages kids to tap into their creativity

Students connect with seniors through cursive letters

It's almost a lost art for today's younger generation

Creative legacy lives on in Langston Hughes' home

Renee Watson launched the "I, Too, Arts collective" for the community that the Harlem Renaissance leader once loved

Act of kindness leads to a family reunion six decades overdue

With some help along the way, a homeless man discovers the family he never knew he had

Joy, grief and a handwritten letter bring 2 La. families together

Two parents were undecided on a middle name for their new baby boy until inspiration arrived in the form of a handwritten letter

How 2 football players are preparing for life after the NFL

Two NFL players are taking part in an externship program that's designed to help them find work after their playing days are over

High schooler's "Sit With Us" app tackles lunchtime bullying

Inspired by her own experience being bullied, Natalie Hampton created an app to connect kids in need of company with welcoming students

Why NFL star Chris Long is playing for free this season

For Long, who is donating his entire salary this season to education initiatives, charity work is more than just writing a check

How a blind runner got his independence back

A look at the growing effort to train service dogs to be not just guides but athletes

Iowa football's heartwarming new tradition

Thousands of fans have started waving to the patients at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, which sits next to the football stadium

"Hope dealers": West Virginia women offer help to opioid addicts

The women -- who are hand-holders and sometimes "butt-kickers" -- met at a support group for families harmed by addiction

Houston furniture store owner offers refuge for Harvey victims

In 2005, Jim McIngvale also housed 200 Hurricane Katrina evacuees in his store -- some even landed jobs

Photographer takes free photos of grads years after missing out on his own

Four years of high school often come down to a single photo, but the price of those photos puts them out of reach for many families

Denver chef teaches sick kids to grow and grill healthy food

Chef Troy Guard teaches children from a Denver area hospital, many of who are fighting chronic illnesses, how to grow and cook healthy food

Perfect strangers swap kindness ... and a kidney

Pastor Edgar Roberts will receive his kidney transplant Tuesday after meeting his donor, John Branson, by complete chance

How teens and Boston cops are finding common ground

With the help of Teen Empowerment in Dorchester, youth are now part of the solution in helping reduce crime

Two churches with painful history try to help bridge racial divide

In our ongoing series, “A More Perfect Union,” we take a look at two neighboring churches in Macon with a complicated history – working to forge a new relationship

How 82-year-old man's chance encounter with a little girl gave him new purpose

Widower Dan Peterson says the four-year-old "angel" he met at the grocery store opened him to a love he didn't know existed

One community rallies behind a young reporter's dreams

Fourteen-year-old Geoffery Rogers is Rochester's youngest journalist, but he's already made the city's police and elected officials work for him

Meet the entrepreneur who is empowering young girls, one dress at a time

When Sam Sisakhti donated a box of dresses to those in need, he realized what can be achieved with just one brand-new piece of clothing

College students skip spring break to help kids connect with science

While other students descended on beaches, two University of Miami science majors shared their enthusiasm for nature with a younger generation

Healing the emotional wounds of war through song

There are a lot of therapy programs for veterans suffering from PTSD, but only a few use professional musicians

How hockey is uniting Nashville cops and kids

Kids in Nashville and the people who keep them safe share a common bond – hockey – and it's helping them get to know each other

This woman's friends kept a promise for 21 years...and counting

Harriet Fridkin, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has been receiving a visit from one of her friends every weekday for more than two decades

How a difficult past inspired man's effort to feed those in need

Dozens of volunteers mobilize every weekend to help Syracuse's cold and hungry for Sandwich Saturdays

How a t-shirt and a social media post saved a father's life

While on a family vacation at Disney World, Rob Leibowitz wore a t-shirt emblazoned with a plea, his blood type and a phone number

Two families united in fight for childhood cancer research funding

Only about four percent of federal funding for cancer research is set aside specifically for childhood cancers

Delivering hope to Texans still rebuilding after Harvey

In our ongoing series, A More Perfect Union, we visit the hard-hit community of Vidor, Texas

Student living in retirement home helps bridge generation gap

In our series, "A More Perfect Union," we travel to Iowa to see how an artist-in-residence program is bringing about a special bond

Autoworkers collaborate to build fellow employee a new limb

Coworkers at an auto plant in Ohio combined their skills to build an arm for a fellow employee

Teamwork transcends the field for "America's deaf team"

The majority of Gallaudet University's football team is comprised of deaf players or those hard of hearing

Teen turns thrift store finds into trendy clothing for homeless

Dillon Eisman got the idea to transform secondhand clothes after visiting a homeless shelter with his parents

Bridging America's political divide, one meal at a time

Three women created The People's Supper after the 2016 election to foster meaningful conversation among diverse groups of people

Music unites Wall Street banker and New York's homeless

Chris Leamy, who has a side career as a musician, started playing with the homeless as a way to try out new songs

Shared pain makes way for a healing journey

Two strangers spent the summer biking across the country to raise awareness for Gold Star families – and became family along the way

Tattoo parlor on a mission to remove ink -- and painful memories

Once per week, a Baltimore tattoo parlor covers up racist or gang-related tattoos -- for free

Find a rock, paint a rock, hide a rock

In our ongoing series, A More Perfect Union, we take a look at an unusual hobby that's spreading across Ohio

"Pushy moms" help underprivileged students find path to top colleges

In this first installment of our new series, "A More Perfect Union," meet a group of women who use their experiences with their own kids to help less-privileged students

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