Though the adage goes, “it takes a village to raise a child,” in a culture more isolated and individualistic than ever, it isn’t often that families take this maxim to heart. In the face of tragedy, we may look to our friends, neighbors, and faith communities for help after-the-fact. But when Laura and Robb Klein lost their youngest child, Jarrod, to murder, they realized that community “before-the-fact” efforts might have prevented their child’s premature death.

*During a family trip filled with laughter and love in 2013, the entire Klein family gathered together, rented a beachfront home, and spent a week in Galveston.*

In February of 2008, when Jarrod was a Texas High School senior, he suffered a dirt bike accident while out riding with friends. Beyond the significant damage done to his ribs, arm, collarbone, and lungs, Jarrod also suffered a traumatic brain injury. His parents were, of course, grateful for his survival. They knew that his life—and their lives, by extension—had irrevocably changed, but they never could have predicted the extent.

Through months in the hospital and rehabilitation facilities, Jarrod regained much of his strength, but medicine couldn’t give back everything he lost. The TBI impacted his cognition in major ways; in particular, he struggled with executive functioning (planning, sustaining attention, critical thinking, self-control). This impairment hindered his ability to make wise decisions, a task with which even typical 18-year-olds struggle.

Robb and Laura employed the help of neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors. “We did all we could to guide and nurture him, and to get him to where he could be self-reliant and move into society on his own,” Laura said, “but this was never to be.”

Over the next nine years, as Jarrod developed a drug addiction and struggled to maintain employment, his goodheartedness remained steadfast. This, according to his parents, played a tragic role in Jarrod’s death.

“Jarrod, the trusting and outgoing person he was, could not rationalize that people would take advantage of him,” Laura said. “His kindness was his weakness to those who were manipulative. We know that Jarrod’s personality and trusting nature led to his demise. The people he thought were his friends were the very same people who took advantage of his kindness and generosity, which led to [Jarrod’s murder] in 2017.”

(Though motive was never clearly established, it is true that Jarrod’s killer had been a friend. He was arrested, convicted, and charged with a life sentence.)

The day after the trial, Laura and Robb began contending with the energy within them. They wanted to honor their son’s legacy, and they wanted to prevent other young men from suffering a similar fate. They began asking themselves questions: what else could have been done to save Jarrod?

Board members for Just Love and Kindness are Lisa Knighten, Robbie Klein, Laura and Robert Klein (holding a photo of Jarrod), Connie Loomis, Karen Lansdell, Jessica Pearson and Kim Polk. (Photo by Bobbie Gail Starks)

The answers they found surpassed individual efforts; after all, the Klein family had done everything they could do help Jarrod. They decided, then, that large-scale societal interventions were needed.

In 2019, the Kleins registered Just Love and Kindness Foundation as a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to “the development of young people, veterans and the forgotten and disadvantaged members in our society in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local communities.” For the 2020–2021 school year, their focus will be on school-aged children.

To this end, Just Love and Kindness will be holding a golf tournament on September 19 at Texarkana Golf Ranch. Proceeds will primarily benefit the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department’s P.R.I.D.E. (Personal Responsibility in Daily Efforts) Academy, a program that aims “to reduce at-risk behaviors by promoting healthy lifestyles, educational achievement, and financial stability in youth.” By positioning police officers as mentors for Texarkana Arkansas School District middle schoolers, the department aims to reduce juvenile arrest rates.

“P.R.I.D.E. is doing what we envisioned, so we want to support it and help it flourish,” Laura said.

The idea for a golf tournament came easily; Jarrod loved the game and the friends he made playing it. (In fact, at the Golf Ranch’s 14th hole, a memorial bench sits in his honor.) Prizes will be given for hole-in-one, long drive, closest to a pin, and putting contests; the largest prize will be a new car from tournament sponsor Orr Hyundai. Besides actual game play, the tournament will also feature a silent auction, as well as catered breakfast and dinner. “We hope this will be a huge success,” Laura said.

For more information on the Kleins’ organization and to register for the golf tournament either as a player or sponsor, visit: www.justloveandkindness.org.

Feature Stories

Triumph After Tragedy