Meet the Barróns: the winners of the Parents magazine America’s Kindest Families contest.
"As soon as we heard their story, we knew they had to be the winners," TODAY 3rd Hour co-hosts and contest judges Dylan Dreyer, Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin and Al Roker told Parents.
Luke and Holly Barrón, who live in Oklahoma, lost their 8-year-old son, Keaton, to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2018. Ever since, the couple and their children, Reid, 7, Holden, 5, and Conley, 2, have worked tirelessly to continue Keaton’s legacy by helping others through their foundation, the K Club.
The foundation, which was Keaton’s idea, primarily helps children fighting cancer and their families. It is also committed to doing random acts of kindness. While in the hospital, founding member Keaton wrote that the club's mission is "to be kind to others, be courageous, compassionate, and caring.”
“Even though he lived a life of suffering, he looked out for other people first,” Holly told TODAY. “That was Keaton.”
The K Club holds several fundraisers a year to raise money for cancer research. The foundation's kindness efforts include collecting supplies for a pregnancy resource center and making hygiene packs for those struggling with homelessness. Holly and Luke have also created “K Cares” to help pay for funerals. The list of good deeds goes on and on.
“It’s an honor to provide a tiny bit of hope or peace in the most unimaginable time in a family’s life,” Holly told Parents. “We feel for every parent who may lose a child and will do anything we can to be there for them.”
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Every month, the Barrons host a party at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, where Keaton was treated. Marie Janne Lopez, who nominated the Barrons for America’s Kindest Family, recalled how Keaton would often choose a toy for his younger sibling instead of himself.
“He realized his brother’s life had been turned upside down by his his treatment. How many 6-year-olds do that kind of thing?” Lopez asked.
Keaton’s mom summed it up perfectly.
“He was a saint on earth from the moment he was born,” she said.
For more on the Barróns, pick up the new issue of Parents.