To our champions for change. Good evening. Im dr. Sanjay gupta. Theres a lot of bitterness in the news these days and it can be sometimes too easy to miss the good stories, the ones quietly striving to make the world better. 12 of my colleagues reconnected with some of the people weve covered over the last couple decades, focusing on individuals that spend their lives making a difference. And i can tell you this, all of us have been inspired by them. Later im going to introduce you to my champion for change. But lets start with john berman. Eleven years ago he met a group of singers belting out rock songs. Their average age, 84. They are called the young at heart chorus. As you watch them and hear them, youre going to probably sing along, youre probably going to tap your feet. But youre going to be reminded of what is possible at any age. The young at heart chorus has a unique membership. Its a Performance Group of older people ranging in age now from 75 to 90. And how young are you . 78. I will be 90 in november. When youre up there singing, do you feel 90 . No, i dont feel any age. And the chorus has a unique repertoire. Seniors singing rock and roll is a simplistic way of saying it, yes . It is. Its a very limited way of saying it. Why limited . Because theres more to it than that. I think for older people, i think its a real joy to see older people on stage as opposed to in the seats in the audience. And that breaks a lot of rules. And i think that the music we choose to do breaks a bit of the mold of what seniors are used to singing. Tainted love dont give up when you get older. Do not be afraid of getting old because you have so much to offer, you have so much to give. So the first time i visited with the young at heart chorus, it was 2008. I had spent much of the previous five years going back and forth to baghdad covering the u. S. War in iraq. I meet young at heart and what i need more than anything is a story thats not violent and will make me smile. And, man, did i find it. When i first met you which was 11 years ago. Right. You told me that its like the super bowl. Its like the worlds best bar mitzvah and being ordained as the pope. I still feel that way. It gave me a purpose to want to wake up in the morning and come to rehearsal and participate in something that just was great. And Everyone Needs to participate. As i learned, even a reporter cant stand around and watch. We were pretty much getting ready to go and you said to me, no, wait a minute. So i sang Barry Manilows copacabana. At the copa copacabana the chorus, as you told me, is always about 25, 26 members and it changes. Yes. The membership changes. Yes, it does. We lose a lot of people. Weve lost a lot of people. Theres probably maybe four or five people left from the chorus you saw in 2008. So 11 years ago, young at heart had performed in a prison, basically, once or twice. They went and they sang before the prisoners and it was a very moving experience but it was performance. Now 11 years later, its part of their program. Theyre inside the prisons singing with the prisoners. When you hear that young at heart is on the calendar i get excited. Ill be it will be like the night before and i want to go to bed early. It keeps me going, definitely. They know its an hour or an hour and a half where theyre going able to be to be able to express themselves in a way they feel comfortable doing. Ive never done this. Whats changed for you since we first met . My age. I have ive become one of them. Its like im now 65. I get medicare. The average age of this group is 84. I cant imagine what im going to be doing when im 84. I look at what theyre doing and i have a deep appreciation for it all. And i do too because if they can do it, who am i to say no to a little james brown. Well, i feel nice like sugar and spice this chorus, someday, people will look back and theyll say, they did good things for people of all ages. So good, so good i got you owwww [ cheers and applause ] you can quit your day job. Im not going to have a day job. [ laughter ] i am convinced now that john berman really can do just about anything, even sing. I love this story because as you might guess, its not just about the singing. Its about the brain positively changing in response to singing. Again, a great reminder that theres nothing wrong with growing old, embrace it. Now to barbershop fellow ship. Brooke baldwin talked with rapper mike five years ago. They pick up now where they left off, a short time ago at a place where no topic is off limits. The barbershop and the black barbershop has always been a social center for a country club of sorts. This is an hour a week that the average guy can come and be spoiled. You can have intellectual dialogue with people you agree and disagree with, and you can do it in a safe place. You can see the rest of books story at cnn. Com. But up next, bill weir takes us to a place known as the island where people forget to die. His champion for change uses oldworld habits to help americans live longer, happier lives. Announcer champions for change is presented by charles schwab. Go to cnn. Com champions to learn more about these stories and how theyve had an inspiring impact. We both work with families experiencing homelessness as well as provide all of the Health Services for the entire care as well as dental care. Part of being a Strong Organization is having a Strong Financial foundation. And part of that is looking at what can we do better, what can we learn to serve our neighbors. We believe that the families we work with have strength and that underlying respect and compassion is a very important value for community of hope. Community of hope encouraged me to do the things that i did to get where we are today. Over the last year, i got a job. Im about to start school. I have a home, a home that im able to call mine. Im the ceo at community of hope. My friend bill weir has met some fascinating people in all of his travels. They live where people tend to enjoy long and healthy lives. Blue zones, the man who coined that term, showed how hes now changing lives in middle america. If you take a ferry from mykonos, past landmarks of greek mythology, you will discover icaria, the island where people forget to die. A place where people live to age 90 at a rate of up to four times greater than americans. With a fraction of our rates of dementia and alzheimers. The Life Expectancy in america is 79. We should be able to live to 92. Somewhere along the line, were leaving 13 years on the table. And when a National Geographic explorer found this place, something clicked. My quest is, how do we get those extra 13 years and how do we make those extra 13 years good years. That one question sent him on a lifelong quest to bring back the secrets of the happiest, healthiest centenarians in the world. Every time his team found a pocket of longevity, theyd circle it on a map in blue ink. And they learned that in these blue zones, nine key lifestyle choices mattered just as much or more than good genes. Can you rattle off the nine . Move naturally every day, be able to articulate your sense of purpose, have daily rituals that reverse the stress of every day living. Have a little wine at 5 00, eat mostly a plantbased diet, especially beans and nuts. Eat a huge breakfast. Belong to a faithbased community, put your family first. Keep your aging parents nearby and curate a special group of friends, four or five friends, who are going to nudge you in the right direction. His lessons stuck with me. As i traveled the world over the years, i assumed that blue zones were only for small, simple, isolated societies where the healthy choice is the only choice. This could never work in the modern land of the free, home of the whopper, right . There he is. Wrong. Bucking the status quo with science and common sense, dan has blue zoned the entire states of iowa and hawaii, 45 american cities, including one of the biggest and unhealthiest in the land. When i asked for a blue zone in the United States and you told me ft. Worth, texas, i thought you were pulling my leg. When my kids were in high school, i watched their friends getting more and more out of shape. And thats happening to our whole population, particularly in texas, the land of chicken fried steak. When mayor betsy price realized her city full of sedentary and obese smokers ranked near the bottom of National Wellness surveys, she started holding rolling town halls. And then she brought in dan and blue zones. And the response from the room, all the leaders there, was, i dont know, it sounds like youre taking our freedoms away from us. And i said, fine, keep doing what youre doing. And betsy price so no, no, i think we ought to give dan a chance. Show bill how we roll in ft. Worth. The republican mayor built more parks and sidewalks. And got behind the blue zones idea to create Walking School buses which gives seniors a sense of purpose each morning, tightens community, and gets kids moving. While the city bans smoking in bars and restaurants, dans team convinced Convenience Stores to sell more fruits and veggies. How much do you end up throwing away . None. Thats fantastic. I love it. They got steakhouses to offer more healthy options. This may be the first time in my life i ever ordered a vegetarian taco. And he taught the folks at Texas Health Resources that the most coveted parking spots should be the ones farthest away from the building. Doing a row of the blue zones Parking Spaces encourages people to take a little walk, not a big one, but a little walk. As a ceo explains, this only works with buyin from everyone, government, business, faith communities. And in five years, he says theyve moved up in wellness rankings from 185th in the nation, to number 31, saving around 250 million. The people we saw, if you asked them how they got to be a hundred, they probably couldnt tell you. They just live their life. They herd their goats, they tended their garden, they spend time with their family. They went to church on sundays. They went to parties during the summer. But they were getting good sleep. They were eating mostly plantbased food. They were nudged into moment every 20 minutes as a residue of their environment. And were just trying to take that blueprint from places like icaria and land it over places like ft. Worth, texas, and lo and behold, it works. It works. And that is why dan buettner is my champion for change, proving that with a few healthy nudges, we can all create our own islands where people forget to die. And im now joined by bill weir. Good to see you. Great to see you. You get to travel to these amazing places. Its nice. All these places youve gone to, what do you think that they share in common that allows these people to live these long lives . Thats the thing i came away with working with dan, you go and think its a magic bullet, something in the water, maybe its the local honey they use every morning, but its really buck shot. Nine things that he talked about in there, its community, a sense of purpose, its if you dont go to church, someone is going to come knocking on your door to check on you. The way human beings evolved as triable communities. And i try to copy that stuff when i come back and it gets sucked into twitter, facebook or bingeing on netflix and losing track. But its really common sense. Do you change your life after these trips . I have. I have instated newfound family dinners and Digital Detox weekends and really made a choice to plug into what those folks have. But i am a true american creature in that my parents went into the winds, Family Living all over, its hard to stay together, its part of the american dream, youre moving on, but i try to copy. I thought of social time as a luxury. I think after reading some of dans work and watching these pieces, its a necessary thing. It does more for you than you realize. Its amazing work. I think theres lessons in there for all of us. I hope so. Maybe we can get happy hour sometime. Well live longer. Thanks so much. Sometimes our greatest triumphs come at those times when were most challenged. What if you were a runner or dancer and you lost your leg . What would you do. Its not something you would ever think about until it is all you can think about. The story of Heather Abbott through the eyes of poppy harlow when we come back. Announcer champions for change is present beside by charles schwab. Go to cnn. Com champions to learn more about these story and how theyve had an inspiring impact. Community of hopes goal of ending homelessness and about making homelessness rare, brief and nonreoccuring. Its unique in that we both work with families experiencing homelessness as well as provide all of the Health Services for the entire family. Part of that is looking at what can we do better, what can we learn to serve our neighbors. We believe that the families we work with have immense strength and that underlying respect and compassion is a very important value for community of hope. Im the ceo at community of hope. At verizon is supporting military families. When i have a child deployed, having a Reliable Network means everything. So, when i get a video chat, and i get to see their face, its the best thing in the world. And ive earned every one of these gray hairs. Military moms, we serve too. vo the network more people rely on, gives you more. Like military plans with a special price on unlimited. 100 per line, and big savings on our best phones when you switch. Thats verizon. Woman on phone discover. Hi. Do you have a travel card . Yep. Our miles card. Earn unlimited 1. 5 miles and well match it at the end of your first year. Nice im thinking about a scuba diving trip. Woman ooh gasp or not. You okay . Yeah, no, im good. Earn miles. Well match em at the end of your first year. I was really struck that so many of our champions for change this year are young people. Like david hogg and his sister lauren. We first met them last year after they survived the shooting in parkland, florida. Youve probably seen them, maybe heard them as they become leaders in this powerful movement that has been pushing lawmakers to take action against gun violence. And also now, another story about survival leading to remarkable service. As poppy harlow tells it, her champion loved to wear high heels, but thought those days were over after she lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. Instead heather developed a new passion for many other amputees as well. Trying to make them feel whole again. I accepted what happened pretty early on when i recognized that i couldnt change it. To be able to feel like my old self and not have to change something that i love to do because i lost my leg. Just moments ago near the finish line of the Boston Marathon i remember hearing about it and thinking how could this happen and just racing there. 144 injured, three fatalities, 17 Critical Condition at this hour. Quickly the thought comes to your mind about the victims and who are these people . One of them who has really stood out that weve spent a lot of time with is Heather Abbott. She lost part of her left leg in the bombing. And not only is she walking again, she is running again. She wanted to feel like herself again so much, she wanted to walk again in high, 4inch stiletto heels. So she got a prosthetic that has allowed her to do that. She said this is my new life and im for damn sure going to make the most of it. Just getting through the horror of what happened to you and become your full self again i think is where most people have stop. You have taken it so much farther, challenging the status quo, battling the Insurance Companies. Most Insurance Companies dont cover it because it looks real. And it was an opportunity for me to bring attention to this issue, how to make Insurance Companies understand why coverage is needed for devices that arent just for walking. So were in chicago, and i have been looking forward to this day for a really long time. We are heading to surprise an incredibly sweet little 8yearold boy named jude. When jude was just 3 years old, there was a tragic accident while he was at home, and he lost both of his legs. It just hits you right in the gut and it is because of heather and the Heather Abbott foundation that were going to see jude like he is today. He and his family have no idea what is about to happen. The chicago fire, which is the professional soccer team here in chicago, theyre going above and beyond for jude and his family. Go find your name, guys. Theyre going to surprise the kids with their own jerseys, stuffed animals for the little ones, their names on the jumbotron and heather flew in to surprise jude and his family. She hasnt seen them in three years. You look great. How do you like your new legs . Good. Jude, youre an inspiration. This is for you. Theyre even going to sign jude and his siblings to a oneday contract with the team to make it official. I also want to recognize a very special person, Heather Abbott, who is unbelievable. You are a champion for change. This is totally heather. This is who she is. That wouldnt be possible without her help. He is a double amputee that doesnt have feet, but that doesnt identify him. That doesnt detract from his character. You are few of the lucky ones who because of heather and her foundation could have this. Getting the right kind of feet to keep him running and active changed not just his life, but all of us. The legs brought back not just the ability to run, but his heart, his joy, his spirit. Okay. World of high heels. You can rock fourinch heels. I can. Im very impressed. Do you like some of these . Its not just about functionality, but its about feeling like your full self, right . Yeah. It makes a big difference. People dont typically know im an amputee when im Walking Around in my high heels. I will never forget the first day that i met her years ago after the boston bombing. Someone who has fought persistently and who is now a champion for others. Shes just this ultimate woman. I dont know how else to say it, other than Heather Abbott sparkles. Still ahead, mattie, this young man