molina. for more than two decades, he ran a successful choral program at antioch high school. one way to measure success is the awards he won over the years. another way to measure it, is what you'll see now. how many measures of music does it take to take the measure of a man's life. ♪ those rehearsing for a special concert inside antioch high school's auditorium are soon to find out. >> crescendo! >> the life in question, not one of theirs, but the one thing they all have in common. learning music, and life, from ron "mo" molina. >> i've always said that if i could be anyone, i would want to be just like him. >> for 27 years, music has been cool at antioch, because music was mo. he would regularly field a concert choir of more than 200 singers. the elite among them, the music masters toured the world, winning competition after competition, performing hundreds of time each year. not just telling his kids they were family, but showing it. >> he was my hero. he is who i wanted to be. >> mo often told anyone who would listen, he never wanted another job. he would never quit. unfortunately, his body started to last christmas. >> my body just said, fine, if you're not going to do it on your own, i guess we'll do it for you. to the point where i fell on the floor and couldn't get up. >> liver disease is what the doctors said. mo's full-time job was now to get healthy, leaving no time for his other one. >> ultimately the decision i made was to step down. >> the moment mo stopped working, though, was when a handful of his former students started. >> we've got to plan something. >> that something was this past saturday, and it was to be a surprise. for months they had rehearsed and planned. any of mo's former music masters who wanted to perform were welcome. >> come on in. >> they got mo to the hall by telling him it was a regular music masters winter concert. >> we'll get you seated. we'll get things going. >> but when old friends greeted him at the door -- >> hi, guys! >> and more filled the seats. ♪ mo began to realize there was nothing regular about this event. still, it wasn't until his old students flooded the aisles and filled the stage, that the same thing happened to his heart. it is one thing to be told that your life mattered. to be told that you made a difference in this world. >> holy mackerel. >> it is quite another to have 150 voices deliver that message in perfect harmony. ♪ >> just unbelievable to look up and see them all. >> the only thing better would be to lead those voices. perhaps for the last time. ♪ >> which is just what mo did. >> love you guys. [ applause ] >> our next story is technically a follow-up. it's about a personal quest sparked by world-changing events, the vietnam war. it was four years ago that i first did a story about kim and her search for the man that saved her life as a little girl. if that sounds like a long time, it's not. considering just how long kim has been looking for answers, ones she just recently found. a single picture has the power we all know to tell the story of a moment in time. but put two together, and you just might see the story of an entire lifetime. with these two, kim's lifetime. >> when i think about from the beginning, it seems like -- you know -- >> the first photograph is of kim as a young girl with her mother and relatives on an apartment balcony in saigon in 1975. not long before the city fell, and kim, without her mother, would be among the last to flee. kim was adopted by a family in florida. her childhood years spent desperately not wanting to be different. but her hair, her skin, her eyes made that job impossible. >> it was really hard on me growing up, because i just dreaded talking about where i was born. >> it all changed, though, one night in 1992 when kim sat in a broadway theater with her now husband peter. the show was miss saigon. and the story of war tearing apart mother and child stirred something inside kim. >> as soon as the play was over, i remember telling peter, who was my boyfriend at the time, we need to go back to vietnam. it's time. >> two years later following a handwritten map, kim found her family and began unearthing her story. she learned her mother was supposed to escape with her, but went first to say good-bye to relatives and missed the flight. she died six years later in a refugee camp, one day before she was to emigrate to the united states. it was then kim also first heard the name jim smith. the american kim was told was instrumental in getting her on that plane that got her out of the country. but who jim smith was, why he did what he did, and what became of him remained a mystery. for 18 years kim and her husband searched for jim smith, following dozens of promising leads, always coming up empty. until, that is, kim's adopted father found a dusty folder in an attic with an address that proved to be the clue that led to a grave site in florida, where jim smith had been buried in 1980. >> my dream came true after 18 years of trying to find jim smith. >> kim learned jim smith was a civilian contractor in vietnam. her mother, his house cleaner. they actually lived in his apartment. the one with the balcony on which this picture was taken, the one kim was able to return to recently with her son. but not all successful searches are satisfying ones. kim also wanted to find jim smith's relatives to thank them, and learn more about the man. but jim's one son, for reasons not entirely clear, has declined to meet with kim. still, kim is happy to have learned what she did. for one can't know how long a journey has been unless they know where it started. from a story that spans the world to one that drew right in our backyard, literally. we're talking about a giant sequoia tree planted by john muehr more than 100 years ago on his property in martinez. the land is now a national historic site. the tree, well, it's in trouble. and one man is leading the charge to save it. at the intersection of hammer avenue and highway 4, the historic site is a wonderful place in terms of ease of access. it is a terrible place, though, to grow a sequoia. this part of the east bay is just too hot, and too dry. >> yeah. i think it's probably a combination of all those environments, soil. >> it's why when keith park came to work here four years ago, he wasn't surprised to learn this 130-year-old 80-foot giant sequoia, like most others in the region, was not doing well. >> it's done okay. it's made it thus far from 1880, to the present. but it does have a disease. and everybody -- we all knew it. >> but this, of course, was not just any other tree. it was planted here by famed naturalist john muehr in the 1880s. in this 1885 photograph you see the tree protected by a wooden cage planted in a prominent spot on the property for all to see. >> he could have planted it anywhere. he planted it at the intersection of two farm roads. >> keith soon realized the only way to save this tree would be to clone it. but that's notoriously difficult with giant sequoias. in fact, there may be only one person in the world capable of doing it. good thing then that david malarch agreed to try. he runs the ancient tree archive in michigan dedicated to preserving old growth and historic trees. he told us via skype that he jumped at the chance to work on a tree that muehr himself had touched. in fact, he would do it for free. >> it's like a safety net to these trees. you walk thousands of miles, all over the earth, why did he pick that one tree to plant by his home that witnessed his life and time. >> so much like he does with other park trees, keith climbed the sequoia with a saw, and a pair of pruning shears. except instead of cutting away the dead parts, he sawed out the newest growth, clipped it, and overnighted it to michigan. there it was treated not just with tlc, but hormones to stimulate root growth. keith just heard from david that roots have indeed started to grow. and john muehr's tree will live on in a way. even if the current sequoia hangs on for many more years, and keith never sees it replaced with a copy, he's happy knowing he played a part not just in preserving history, but keeping it alive. >> i do take a great sense of pride in being able to at least start the project. you know, that maybe my daughter will some day come back to the john muehr site and see this tree planted that her dad helped save in a way. >> conventional wisdom tells you to keep some distance between your personal and professional life. but one very smart woman is doing the exact opposite. >> it's a constant struggle for physicians to find what people talk about as a work/life balance. >> this pediatrician is literally bringing work into her home, and wouldn't have it any other way. >> once i found out i could do a charity organization, i first thought of hunter. >> a high school home run star hits it out of the park for a little boy. [ wind howling ] [ female announcer ] it balances you... [ water crashing ] ...it fills you with energy... and it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. in a convenient two bar pack. this is nature valley... delicious granola bars made with the best ingredients in nature. nature valley. nature at its most delicious. our bay area proud series is about the good things people do. this next story is no exception. it does, however, start with something bad. a 10-year-old boy mauled by a neighbor's dog back in august back in antioch. hunter still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, but that road will be easier thanks to an unlikely source. if lucas hall stead's dreams come true -- >> that was it. >> -- someone is one day going to pay him a lot of money to do what he already loves doing. hitting, and catching a baseball. still, what makes this baseball standout stand out even more is how he's choosing to give long before he ever gets. lucas is a star player on the monte vista high school team. he was a handful of young players from around the world chosen to participate earlier this year in the elite power showcase in miami. >> it was such a shock. it was the coolest thing ever. >> a home run derby with a generous twist. money raised for the charity of the player's choice. and while many chose large well-known organizations, ones that helped thousands of kids, lucas was interested in helping just one. >> once i found out that i could do a charity organization, the first thing i thought of was hunter. help him out with medical costs. >> lucas first heard about hunter like the rest of us on the evening news. hunter had been playing at a friend's home when that neighbor's two dogs attacked him. the injuries severe, the scars long-lasting. but then lucas learned he was soon to have another connection, his mom kelly was to be hunter's fourth grade teacher at morello elementary. over the past few months lucas got to know hunter. >> nothing's going to hold him back. i thought that was the coolest thing ever. >> and hunter got to know lucas. >> he's tall. he's a big guy. he's nice as well. >> representing california, here is lucas halstead. >> if scouts watching him hit in a major league park were not enough pressure, lucas wanted to hit out at least a few for hunter, which is just what he did. >> it's out of here! >> i get emotional about this when i think about it. you know, and -- yeah, he's my baby. he's my first born. and when someone wanted -- and he wanted to do that for him. it was huge. >> in the end, lucas didn't just raise $2,000 for hunter. he gained a whole new perspective for himself. >> i can just see i'll probably never play the game of baseball without thinking it could be my last game, because it could end like that. >> raising your own kids is hard enough. now add 90 foster kids into the mix. >> i sometimes feel god put me here really to take care of the kids that don't have love in their life. >> she's doing more than just taking care of them in her home. see what she's doing once they leave. and an oakland pediatrician gives bedside manner a whole new meaning. that story when we come back. mom... yes honey? dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart, is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. [ dad ] jan? ♪ many people consider a doctor who makes house calls as the epitome of personal service. but dr. caroline hastings at children's hospital oakland may have you rethinking that. she is a doctor, wife, mother, who is turning the idea of work life balance on its head with beautiful results. bringing work home from the job regardless of what you do is something most of us try to avoid. even more so when you're a doctor. like caroline hastings. >> it's a constant struggle for physicians to find what people refer to as a work/life balance. because it is not only just time-consuming, but it consumes us emoes tionaemotionally. you can't just turn it off when you go home. >> what makes caroline special is she is a doctor who stopped trying to turn it off. instead, she invited it in. literally. >> i brought my family into my work, and my work into my family. it was actually a lot easier for me. it made more sense. and it was comfortable. >> on this day, for example, after treating 10-year-old twins for a rare genetic disorder at oakland children's hospital, she's treating them to a birthday party. at her house. >> yea! >> the party is here because the hemple family is staying here. they're spending the week sleeping right off caroline's dining room. >> the most amazing doctor in the world. the most beautiful friend at the same time. i mean, what else could you ask for. if you wanted a physician, i mean, you couldn't get anything better than this. >> i remember talking to you -- >> for the hemples it turns out they're not the first out-of-town patients carolyn housed over the years. her three teenage daughters have become used to the unique houseguests and look forward to them. the main reason caroline chooses to erase every line between her personal and professional lives. >> i think it's enriched the lives of my children. and i feel like it's made me not only a better physician, but a better mother, a better wife, a better friend. >> it's a work/life balance that may not work for everyone. but in this case, it works beautifully. to be a foster parent, you have to have a big heart. but what claudia and roy have done for their 90 foster children, well, goes well beyond love. their story, when we come back. ♪ ho ho ho [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant tomato florentine soup, it took a little time to get it just right. [ ding ] ♪ but finally, it happened. perfection. at progresso, we've got a passion for quality, because you've got a passion for taste. our final story tonight is about a pair of foster parents from novato. as you've probably guessed by now they're the subject of the bay area proud story, they're not your average foster parents. their commitment to foster children doesn't end even when they're no longer children. there is a home in novato that is bilingual. where mom claudia seamlessly blends fluent spanish, and english with her kids. still, there is one word that claudia seems to define differently than the rest of us -- regardless of the language. that word is enough. let's start with claudia, and husband roy's work as foster parents. it began 16 years ago when a teenager asked a then 16-year-old claudia to be her foster mom. she said yes. >> i don't know what i was thinking. >> what she didn't know is that she and roy would be great at it. that foster child went on to graduate college. one of their many foster children. >> about 90. a little more than 90. >> and here's where we get to enough. you would think caring so well for so many kids would be enough. but claudia was finding some of her children after aging out of the system struggled to balance life and school. particularly those who made it to community colleges. >> they still have to figure out where they're going to live, pay rent, eat. you know, everything. a lot of the kids in foster care made it to community college were not finishing. >> that is when claudia started thinking outside the box. or better yet, outside her home to the one down the street. one that she now rests to former foster kids needing a place to stay in order to stay on the path of success that claudia and roy have started them. and if that sounds like a big expense, it is. it's why claudia is in the process of creating her own nonprofit now called moving on up. she would like to expand beyond the one home she's representing now and perhaps do still more, though clearly never enough. >> there's a lot of times i sit and say, why? like why did god pick me? i'm not that religious, i'm catholic, but i'm not super crazy catholic, you know. i sometimes feel god just put me here really to take care of the kids that don't have love in their life. >> thanks again for joining us for this "bay area proud" special. catch new stories every tuesday and thursday in our 5:00 p.m. newscast. we post all the stories on our website. just go to nbcbayarea.com/bayareaproud. have a great night and we'll see r own are fantastic. but add some sauce, pepperoni and cheese and fold up the crescent dough and presto, tuesday night just became crescent pizza pocket-tastic pillsbury crescents. make dinner pop. he loves me. he loves me not. he loves me. he loves me not. ♪ he loves me! that's right. [ mom ] warm and flaky in 15, everyone loves pillsbury grands! [ girl ] make dinner pop! ] everyone loves pillsbury grands! >> announcer: the following program is sponsored by operation smile. every year, hundreds of thousands of children are born with cleft lip and or cleft palate. >> dr. bill magee: why should any child, anywhere on this planet, have to live a life of misery. >> kathy majette: a lot of people think that children that are born with these deformities are cursed. just imagine a life alone, that nobody wanted to be around you. >> norrie oelkers: and we had children coming in for screening with brown bags over their head. they're never allowed to leave their house unless they have a bag on their heads. >> kathy majette: some children don't live, because they have problems with eating, and drinking, and die of malnutrition. >> mel: and they see us as their last resort. >> dr. jill gora: every child deserves a fair chance at life, >> peggy stillman: it may only take an hour to do something that will change their lives forever. >> noreen kessler: and you just see a whole new person, a whole new beginning. it's almost like they're reborn. i can't think of another word but phenomenal. [ music ] >> roma downey: as a mother, i would do anything i could to help my child live a normal life. and i'm sure you would, too. but what if you couldn't do anything? what if you were totally helpless? that's the situation for hundreds and thousands of parents in developing countries whose children are born with cleft lip or cleft palate. in the united states, these deformities are corrected shortly after birth. but in many countries around the world, these children are left untreated and are shunned. [ music ] [ children's voices ] >> roma downey: i'm in le loi hospital. the volunteer operation smile medical team has come from all over the world to perform surgeries, and parents have brought their children here, hoping that they'll be selected.

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