When Rob Jenkins looks back at photos of himself as a child, he’s the first to point out everything that was wrong with his teeth.
“They were teeth with a big gap,” he says with a topical but directly comparative tone in his voice. “One day, I thought it would be a good idea to take two quarters and put them together to see if they fit. And they did.”
Clearly, Rob needed braces. But his single mom only had two quarters to rub together. She got pregnant in high school and left his father before Rob was born. Rob would end up living in eight separate households over three years and attending 11 schools over 12 years. She also had six dads come and go over the next 16 years.
At every turn, Rob was teased by classmates who were merciless and relentless about his bad teeth.
But just when it felt like chaos would continue to reign and the world would never give up, someone finally stepped in to help. An anonymous person at a church he visited, whom he had never met, wanted to give him the braces as a gift.
“Apparently they said, ‘I’m going to put braces on this kid.’ I couldn’t believe that someone I didn’t know cared about me,” Rob said. He got his new braces when he was 11 and to say they changed his life would be an understatement. Not only did his confidence improve, he went on to earn his undergraduate degree, cum laude, at UT Austin, attend the elite law program at UCLA, and has been blessed with a successful 25-year legal career. “That blessing changed everything. For the first time, I suddenly thought I was as good as the others.”
From that moment on, Rob Jenkins vowed that one day he would repay that blessing. And boy, does it ever.
Jenkins founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called the Eternal Smiles Foundation in 2024. The Flower Mound-based organization’s mission is to help other single parents in need receive the same life-changing support of orthodontic braces, regardless of financial circumstances. From initial visits and braces to final removal, Eternal Smiles works with orthodontists from across the country to cover the entire process. Along the way, they provide resources and support to help families understand the importance of orthodontic care and oral health so they can one day pay the gift forward to someone else.
Eternal Smiles is one of the few organizations that donates braces to children and is the only one that focuses strictly on single parent families. The only liability for these families is a $25 processing fee. Also, Eternal Smiles does not limit them to specific orthodontists, although they do have a growing list of Aligned Providers for families who do not have a preferred provider.
Fast forward to today, just one year later, the Eternal Smiles Foundation has blessed 17 children with new braces, hence the name “Blessed Kids”. All but two of these kids are from North Texas, but their reach is expanding beyond their wildest dreams with applications from families nationwide.
Rob and his team hope to end the year with 20 children receiving braces. The goal is to be in 50 more by the end of 2026.
“It’s not just about straight teeth,” said Rob, now 59. “It’s about paving paths to a brighter future.”
That last statement couldn’t be more accurate. Misaligned teeth can lead to concerns such as chewing problems, speech problems, head, neck and jaw pain, sleep problems, cavities and various dental diseases. But it is much more consequential than physical impact. It can also lead to reduced smiling, isolation, social anxiety, conversational avoidance and bullying. Straight teeth are essential for physical and mental well-being. No matter your age, you benefit in ways that go far beyond looks.
According to the organization’s website, 78% of children no longer experienced bullying after they finished their orthodontic treatment. Those with straight teeth are also 38% more likely to be considered intelligent and 45% more likely to get a job.
Kerri Smith is sure that will be the case with her son, Deacon. Kerri is the executive director at Eternal Smiles, but before that, she was also a single mom looking for ways to help her son get braces. What happened next was almost scripted by God.
“It was 2023 and I was between jobs,” he said. “The founder of the safe house I worked at was Rob’s neighbor. Rob needed an executive assistant to help support him in his daily life so he could start what he called ‘this other thing.’ When we met, he spent most of his time talking about this passion project of his and you could tell how much it meant to him. I was devastated because my son was 12 years old at the time, and was in the process of writing a letter to a foundation that donated braces to families in need.
“I couldn’t help but think, ‘What are the odds?’ Rob told me at the time that Deacon would be a recipient, and that was before he even created the foundation. I joined the team a year later, but everything that has happened since then has been a perfect fit.”
But wait, there’s more.
“Rob started the organization at his church, the Christian World Church in Richardson,” he said. “We played a video about the foundation and its history. It was only a two-minute video, but a couple of weeks had passed when a guy named Ed Ballard called. He had seen the video and wanted to know more, but insisted on speaking directly to Rob. Once the two got on the phone, Ed said, ‘My dad was the one who gave you your braces.'” When Rob asked him about his father’s name, he said, “Bib Ballard.” He was a local orthodontist and chose to keep his generosity a secret.”
Dr. Bibb Ballard had passed away in 2007, but the moment Ed said his father’s name, Rob felt the air leave the room. For nearly five decades, he carried the mystery of the stranger who changed his life. Now, out of nowhere, he heard the name of the man who had entered quietly and set everything in motion.
“Rob always said he wanted to be the pebble that made the ripples. When he found out that Dr. Ballard was the person who helped him all these years, he realized that Dr. Ballard was the pebble and that he—Rob—was the ripple,” said Carrie Shaffer, Rob’s executive assistant and Eternal Smiles board president/secretary. “He was always so lost, not knowing who this man was, but it was a mission he felt he was given to complete. Everything fell into place from then on.”
Kerri Smith agreed, adding that the real winners are the kids who help.
“You watch and see how excited these kids are to get braces,” he said. “You’d think most kids don’t want to get braces, but when they don’t have the resources, it’s a very different reaction. They’re excited and seeing it all unfold is an incredible feeling. The best part is that we want to continue that momentum of generosity. From Day 1, we ask these kids and their parents how they want us to bless them. from us.”
To learn more about the great work being done at the Eternal Smiles Foundation and how you can help, visit EternalSmiles.org.
