OAKLAND, Calif. -- Pediatrician Tomás Magaña has treated it all -- gunshot wounds, drug overdoses and domestic abuse injuries.

“I’ve seen too many kids die. I’ve lost 10 kids in my practice, five in the past year alone,” he said.

The doctor’s voice cracks when he talks about his patients. One teen committed suicide while others died in shootings. Some belonged to gangs but a few were killed in the crossfire.

“I’m trained to treat disease but our kids are dying from homicide, suicide, trauma -- the three leading causes of death for teens. All preventable yet all on the rise in certain communities,” he said.

Living in fear
Magaña works at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Calif. -- one of America's most violent cities and part of Alameda County, ranked first in the state and third in the nation for violent crime.

Children live in fear, said Magaña, and no one is immune. 

“Kids hear a popping sound and they run for cover,” he said.  

The Oakland Tribune recently reported that stray bullets kill about one person a month here. While murders and assaults nationwide are declining, according to FBI statistics, violent crime in Oakland in 2012 climbed 25 percent -- about four and a half times the national average.

Nancy O’Malley, Alameda County district attorney, has called crime in Oakland “a cancer” and the city newspaper “a police blotter.”

She attributes 70 percent of all shootings in the city to gangs.

This year, the city has also seen a surge in domestic violence that includes the death of four teenage girls as well as a disturbing rise in the number of minors forced into sex slavery.

“Some of the stories these kids tell us are horrendous,” said O’Malley. 

They’re stories Dr. Magaña hears every day.

“The boys talk about their fear of the future, how they expect to end up dead or in jail,” Magaña said. “Many of the girls talk about abuse in their lives.”

Statistically, these are the kids who never finish school. In some Oakland communities, the high school dropout rate runs as high as every six out of 10 kids. 

And many get in trouble once they leave school.

Something Magaña knows all about. A native of East Los Angeles, Magaña was raised by a teenage mom. 

“She did the best she could. We grew up together and we struggled a hell of a lot.” Magaña believes he too was headed for trouble until other adults, namely his grandparents, interceded and “reframed” his destiny.

Using that as a prescription for success, Magaña and a colleague started a program designed to inspire at-risk teens to stay in school. 

And it’s working.

Building self-esteem, and a passion for health care
Their program, FACES for the Future, helps teens explore careers in health care. The students get academic credit for volunteering in local hospitals where they shadow medical professionals doing their jobs. The kids rotate through specialties like surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics and neo-natal care. During the two-year program, the kids clock 600 hours of volunteer time at community hospitals like St. Rose in Hayward, Calif.

“This builds self-esteem and also looks great on a college application,” explained Magaña.

Felicity Harris, 25, now attends a master’s program in public health at San Francisco State. Her ultimate goal is to become a physician assistant.

“I didn’t have a very sturdy family life so I kind of raised myself. A lot of times in high school I felt alone. It would have been easy to have just given up,” said Harris.

FACES “grounded and motivated” her, she said. “Here I knew people were happy to see me, who wanted me to flourish and grow.”

‘Life is just so overwhelming’
In addition to the hospital experience, each student is assigned a mentor -- an adult to rely on when life gets tough.

For Angela Kath, 17, who is raising her daughter alone, that person is Brooke Briggance, the program director and a fiercely protective substitute mother many of these kids seem to need in their lives.

“Life is just so overwhelming. Sometimes I just need a shoulder to cry on,” admitted Angela, who balances high school, working two part-time jobs and caring for 4-year-old Kamiya. “Mrs. Brooke is the person I turn to so I can be strong for my daughter.”

Before FACES, Angela was on the verge of dropping out of school. Now she dreams of one day working with teenage mothers. 

“Mrs. Brooke tells me I’m smart,” she said. “She helps me stay focused, keep my mind on my goals.”

Since FACES started 13 years ago, about 500 kids have passed through both the two-year program and the summer program. Almost all have graduated high school. Many went on to college.

An impressive feat when you consider that initial acceptance is not based on grades. In fact, lots have poor academic track records.

What they possess is the motivation to change their lives.

“Even with so much trauma, poverty and hopelessness, many children still dream of a better life -- a life full of opportunities,” said Magaña.

Just like he did as a kid.

 By Mark Potter, NBC News

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — On a morning fishing trip to a reef near the South Florida coast, 13-year-old Ray Moody was having the time of his life as he reeled in an exotic-looking species.

"Hey, it's a parrotfish," he yelled. "It's blue, it's a slippery blue one."

Brad Houston/NBC News

Anthony Del Valle, 16, gets a turn at the helm of Rich Brochu's fishing boat.

Standing near him along the boat rail was 16-year-old Anthony Del Valle, who had also hooked one. Captain Rich Brochu offered encouragement and a quick angling lesson: "It looks like you may have something there. Yep, keep that rod tip up."

The weekend trip was part of an after-school fishing program that Brochu, a former police officer and construction company owner, started at his daughter's school in Boynton Beach six years ago to help kids from low-income areas experience the excitement of fishing. Since Brochu opened the Florida Fishing Academy, more than 4,000 students, ages 8 to 18, have signed on to learn the thrill of the catch.

"It's almost like playing a sport. You don't know what's on the other side; there's a kind of mystery to it," Brochu said. "If they catch a fish that's like 3 inches, it's the biggest smile. They love it."

Along with ocean conservation, catch-and-release fishing techniques, boating safety and first aid, Brochu also teaches the kids how to avoid peer pressure, the dangers of drug abuse and the advantages of keeping busy and off the street corners.

"All the kids benefit from activities like this. You know, it gives them something to look forward to," he said. "Obviously, we want to give them a choice in life and hopefully do something better with their life."

In a high school classroom recently, Brochu and Bob Cawood, another fishing captain who helps teach the program, planned to teach knot-tying, But first, they took a few moments to talk about the dangers of smoking.

"Cigarettes can cause mouth cancer. If you think that's true, raise your hands," they asked. Most hands went up. A short time later, the two men began teaching how to tie a clinch knot and made a game of it by insisting the students tie them behind their backs. The room erupted in noise and laughter as the students tried to see who could do it fastest.

Brad Houston/NBC News

Youngsters get a taste of the sea aboard Ray Brochu's fishing boat.

Excitement also broke out at gymnasium in Riviera Beach when elementary school students learned how to cast toward plastic fish scattered along the floor, and during foot races for which the children had to first put on life jackets correctly before running to the other side of the room.

A boating reward

For students in the program who stay in class, keep out of trouble and do some volunteer work, there is a special reward most of them would never have a chance to experience otherwise. At a dock in Riviera Beach is a colorfully painted 38-foot fishing boat that students can go out on to fish with Brochu and Cawood.

"Some of these kids have never been on a boat, never been on the beach. That's one of the goals, to get them out here," Brochu said.

Derrick Campbell, an instructor at Village Academy in Delray Beach, is convinced the fishing program and the promise of boating trips work to inspire good behavior.

"They're more disciplined. They don't act up," he said. "They know that there's something at the end of the rainbow."

Vickie Verzi, a single mother, wholeheartedly agrees. She believes the fishing program has been "the salvation" of her teenage son, Donnie, by keeping him engaged and away from troublemakers.

"It taught him how to fish," she said. "It gave him an interest in something that was good for him, and it gave him a direction in life."

Donnie now volunteers on the boat and is known among his friends as an accomplished angler.

Anthony Del Valle's mom, Tania Serrano, is also a fan of the program. "It's a new passion, and it keeps him busy," she said.

A shark-fishing trip is a particular source of pride for Anthony, and his mom couldn't be happier.

"A lot of people are like, 'wow, shark fishing?' and I'd rather have him out shark fishing than be hanging out with the sharks on the street."

For Anthony, the fishing boat not only gives him something to do; it also brings him a sense of inner peace.

"It gives me a second chance to do something I like and stay out of trouble," he said while cranking his fishing reel. "It just puts me in my own world."

Sharing the experience

The nonprofit Florida Fishing Academy program is paid for by donations, grants and fundraisers. Among the supporters is famed marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey, whose foundation wrote large checks to support the school and also supplied the colorful vinyl wrap that covers the boat hull.

"What a win, win, win situation," said Steve Stock, president of Guy Harvey Inc. "What a great sport this is, but way beyond that, if we can turn some of these kids' lives around, pretty good."

Brad Houston/NBC News

Janel Scholine and Nick Corzo, in the background, cast their lures.

During the recent weekend trip, 16-year-old Janel Scholine reeled in several fish and said she was thrilled to learn a new skill.

"I love it. It's awesome. I didn't know anything about fishing, and now I do," she said, beaming. In fact, Janel learned so much that she is now a volunteer instructor teaching as many as 50 children at a time an academy program called Angling For A Healthy Future.

Layne Reyka, also 16, says fishing with captains Brochu and Cawood is a lot of fun and matches his personality: "I'm very competitive, so it's definitely the pursuit and the hunt, whether it be a big fish or a small fish — preferably a big fish!"

For Brochu, the size and the success of the program are a surprise. His plan had been to work just with the kids at his daughter's school. Since then, he said, the Florida Fishing Academy has taught in 46 Palm Beach County schools.

"I set out for one goal, and that was to save one kid," he said. "Now it's one child at a time, and we've saved a lot."

The reward, he said, is in hearing from parents how well their kids are doing and in watching kids fully engaged in a sport he and Cawood love.

"Bob and I are both on their level. We just enjoy it. It's a great time sharing the experience with them. We're living the dream." he said. "Making a difference is more important to us than making money."

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

• Survivor of deadly avalanche: It was like a 'washing machine'
• Olympics earmarks a double-edged sword for Romney
• Official: 'Very intense struggle' after ICE agent shot boss
• How much do sleep do teens really need?
• Arizona sheriff quits Romney campaign, denies wrongdoing
• IRS faces surge in identity theft tax fraud
• New witness accounts suggest Gacy had accomplice

By Chelsea Clinton
Rock Center special correspondent

Central Falls, Rhode Island may seem like an unlikely standard bearer for a reading or public school revolution – it is the poorest district in the state with more than 85% of its students on free or reduced lunch plans. And, the city itself recently went bankrupt. Yet, a remarkable collaboration between The Learning Community charter school and surrounding non-charter public elementary schools continues to demonstrate that students are hungry to learn and that, in the words of The Learning Community credo, poverty is not a barrier to success.  The collaboration is part of what is called the Growing Readers Initiative – an effort to share best practices between teachers from different systems to turnaround some of the lowest reading scores in the state.

Walking the vibrant halls of The Learning Community – where the reading program began – watching the younger students proudly use their reading strategies to read books one and two grade levels ahead and listening to older fifth grade students engage with one another on questions of friendship, racism, loyalty, it is clear that The Learning Community is a remarkable place.  Indeed, in 2009, Learning Community students exceeded the expected performance for a school with its level of poverty by 25% in reading and 45% in math.

Visiting nearby non-charter Veterans Memorial Elementary School and observing The Learning Community teachers working with the Veterans teachers to share the reading methodology charter school teachers saw work so well in their school, it is clear that something special is happening.  Kids gather on the rug to learn reading strategies, back at their desks, students practice their strategies independently and with one another.  I felt like a giant sitting in a 2^nd grade desk chair when the students were explaining their books to me!  All the teachers we met share a deep commitment to their kids and an understanding about what will best help their kids read, learn and thrive – and a willingness to continuously how best to do that.  The effects of that dedication are clear at Veterans and across the Central Falls district.  In the first year of the partnership between The Learning Community and the school district, reading scores district-wide increased 29 points – an amazing achievement and a tribute to all the teachers and their students.

Although collaborations between charter public schools and non-charter public schools are rare, so too are collaborations between non-charter public schools themselves.  One of the teachers we spoke with said the only thing that catches readily in schools during flu season (when we were there), was the flu.  Yet, she and her colleagues were proving that sentiment wrong day after day. The school district had hoped to expand the collaborative effort through fifth grade this year but put those plans on hold fearing the impact the city’s bankruptcy filing and potential state cuts would have on education dollars.  Now, facing $1.5 million in cuts to the 2012-2013 school year budget, the superintendent of schools in Central Falls says funding for the Growing Readers Initiative is in peril, jeopardizing the ongoing collaboration and shared learning between the teachers that has clearly been key to their students’ successes.

Late last year, Sean F. Reardon, a Stanford University sociologist, published a study that showed the achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families (from the top 10% of family incomes and the bottom 10% of family incomes) has grown by 30-40% among children born in 2001 versus those born 25 years earlier.  Reardon’s work was recently highlighted in the New York Times, as was work by Susan M. Dynarski and Martha J. Bailey, both of the University of Michigan, which showed that the disparity in college completion rates – the single most powerful predictor of future success – has grown 50% between kids from wealthy families and those from poor families – since the 1980s.  There is much to be concerned about in those statistics and even more in the challenges confronting kids and families across the country. There are also signs of hope that poverty does not need to imprison consecutive generations.  One of the places that gives meaning to this hope is Central Falls, Rhode Island. 

Click here to watch Chelsea Clinton's full 'Making a Difference' report from NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.

By Chelsea Clinton
Rock Center special correspondent

As I started to think about my first ‘Making a Difference’ segment, I knew I wanted to focus on an organization that was scalable – either in the sense that it could be serving more people if it were to have more resources, or it could be a potential model for other communities.  I certainly found it in the incredible work of the non-profit Targeting Our People's Priorities With Service (TOPPS), in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and its founder Miss Annette Dove.  TOPPS meets every need of her kids all under one roof.  The program provides them with a safe place to do their homework and socialize after school; tutoring help; mentoring programs; the opportunity to visit colleges and the world beyond Pine Bluff; and healthy meals and snacks.  Miss Dove also helps teach kids how to cook and make nutritious meals out of what their families receive from the food bank or the Salvation Army.  On an average day, TOPPS feeds 280 kids, a number that rises to 440 in the summer.  Often, TOPPS feeds kids’ parents too – there are some days when TOPPS feeds 500 people, and even more in the summer. 

Dozens of kids participate in the daily tutoring programs and close to 100 make the commitment to participate in the mentoring programs that target young girls, older girls and high school-age boys.  The waiting list to get into the programs is far greater than the number of kids currently enrolled.  Miss Dove is incredibly – and justifiably – proud that the students in the tutoring programs, and particularly those in the mentoring program, stay out of trouble and see their grades improve.  Five students from the older boy’s mentoring program, led by Miss Dove’s son Michael, went to college last year – five boys who may not have graduated high school without Miss Dove and Michael’s leadership and support.  Many students told us that without Miss Dove in their lives, they would be failing school, have dropped out, be locked away in juvenile detention or jail, or possibly even be dead.

Amy Reinhold

As Miss Dove told us, she fills the gaps she sees in her kids’ lives and in her community.  She started TOPPS with the community reading program RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) in 2002 serving a handful of kids.  In the decade since she founded TOPPS, Miss Dove and her team, including all four of her grown children, have affected thousands of kids’ lives.  Beyond the direct services TOPPS provides, Miss Dove goes with kids to their juvenile hearings, their teacher conferences, sometimes even to talk to parents with substance abuse problems about getting sober and back on track. 

In Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a community with one of the highest per capita crime rates in the country and where more than 75% of kids are on reduced or free lunch plans, Miss Dove helps kids be kids – and gives them the support, nourishment and love to give them a chance to grow up into responsible adults.  Mayor Carl Redus said he couldn’t imagine Pine Bluff without Miss Dove and TOPPS.  Lieutenant Shirley Warrior from the Pine Bluff Police Department told us that she, the Police Department broadly and the juvenile justice system all refer kids to Miss Dove.  Miss Dove’s impact extends far beyond the thousands of kids she’s helped and the hundreds she serves daily – she’s affected the city of Pine Bluff and how it sees its future.  Her city, her family, her staff and, most importantly, her kids at TOPPS all say Miss Dove is, indeed, making a difference. 

Editor's note: To learn more about Miss Dove and TOPPS: http://rockcenter.co/w2rnF5