A boy's simple habit of waving to his neighbors transformed his community

CONCORD, North Carolina — Not many children crave connection more than 4-year-old Roman Butzlaff. If you pass by his house in Concord, North Carolina, he will surely greet you with a wave and a "hey." 

"He wakes up every day excited to say 'hi' to somebody, like, that's the first thing he wants to do," his mother, Anna Butzlaff, told CBS News.

And yet, she said that for the longest time, Roman's cheeriness belied an inner loneliness. About a year ago, his parents broke up. His father moved to Florida, and his grandparents lived out of state as well.

But fortunately, all those seeds of kindness he had planted began to bloom. It started with Wade Fulgum, who lives across the street from Roman. 

Fulgum went over to meet the boy who was always waving. They started doing things together. Eventually, other neighbors followed suit. They would stop and chat or even take part in activities such as drag racing down the street.

Anna Butzlaff said it was initially a bit strange because she barely knew any of these people.

"I didn't really know how to take it," she said. "I just saw that my son was happy."

Which is why she went along with it when Roman then began inviting many different neighbors to his soccer games, basketball games and baseball games. Other neighbors came to his swimming lessons and even his preschool open house.

And when it came time for his birthday party, Anna Butzlaff knew the only people she needed to invite were his senior citizen neighbor friends. 

"He loves having us there, and he'll run up and hug us," one neighbor said.

"They've made such an impact on him," Anna Butzlaff said. "They are really special people to him."

Today, the refrigerator is blanketed with pictures of all those people Roman holds so dear. His mother says his inner loneliness is gone.

And his "love thy neighbor" attitude is spreading. Roman has now brought together about a dozen neighbors who say they would have barely known each other if not for that little boy, who lived in a neighborhood but needed a village.

Said one neighbor: "Look at what this little kid has built."

Added another: "If the world was like this child, what an awesome, awesome place it would be."