![\"kindnessgoesviral\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/files\/2014\/05\/kindnessgoesviral.jpg\")
<\/a>At 8 a.m. on July 23, 2013 \u2014 her 22nd birthday \u2014 Sadlon set out from her home in Belvidere, N.J., on a mission to complete 22 \u201crandom acts of kindness,\u201d inspired by an idea she had seen in a Pinterest post. Accompanied by her boyfriend, Evan Reed, and a longtime friend, Meghan Cox, Sadlon brought flowers to bank tellers, doughnuts to police officers, and balloons for kids in an elementary school special education class. She donated blood and helped a couple load their car with groceries. She paid tolls for four strangers driving behind her at the state border crossing.<\/p>\nShe returned home nearly 10 hours later, having completed all 22 items on her list.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a crazy ride, but it was so exciting; one act of kindness led to the energy of another,\u201d Sadlon recalls. \u201cEvery time I approached someone, I told them my name and what I was doing, and they immediately got a smile on their face. Everyone\u2019s reaction was the best reaction I could ever ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n
After that memorable day, Sadlon went back to her usual routine. But when she returned to campus in the fall, she found that her kindness project hadn\u2019t ended with the completion of that final task. An article in The Setonian about the day led to coverage in The Star-Ledger, the Huffington Post, and \u201cGood Morning America;\u201d USA Today named her one of 2013\u2019s five \u201cmost inspiring college students.\u201d She appeared on \u201cThe Rachael Ray Show\u201d and on Couric\u2019s talk show, \u201cKatie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next thing I want to do is, during the holidays, take 12 days out of December and do a kind act one time a day,\u201d Sadlon told Couric.<\/p>\n
She was not alone: This winter, the entire University community joined her.<\/p>\n
At the tree-lighting ceremony on the University Green in December, Sadlon joined President A. Gabriel Esteban in introducing a campus-wide \u201c12 Acts of Christmas Kindness\u201d campaign. Within days, thousands had visited the campaign\u2019s website, with hundreds pledging via Twitter and Facebook to complete acts of kindness of their own.<\/p>\n
Christine Cantine, a senior, was motivated to renew her commitment to service. A social work and theology major, Cantine has been active in Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) programs since her freshman year. But at the end of a busy semester, she realized she missed her time at Saint John\u2019s Soup Kitchen in Newark, where she had long been a regular volunteer. She pledged to return to the kitchen over her Christmas break.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege can be a selfish time, because it\u2019s so much about your grades and your involvement on campus, but Seton Hall has given me a passion for service,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if it\u2019s just one small thing, acknowledging that you have helped somebody can lead you to something bigger in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the campaign has ended, Sadlon\u2019s inspiration continues to resonate beyond campus.<\/p>\n
Sheena Collum \u201906, a member of the South Orange Board of Trustees, was among those who joined the Christmas campaign; she brought groceries to a housebound neighbor and donated to the Red Cross. She also encouraged colleagues and community members to take the pledge, and in January, the Board of Trustees honored Sadlon with a proclamation \u201crecognizing her achievements in spreading the holiday spirit and inspiring so many others to do the same,\u201d Collum wrote in an email.<\/p>\n
\u201cHillary embodies the type of servant leadership from the University that we\u2019re so proud to have in South Orange.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadlon still seems overwhelmed by all of the attention, but she has taken it in stride, speaking to interviewers about the joys of helping others and using her new public platform to educate listeners about the need to donate blood, a cause close to her heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeton Hall wants its students to become leaders, and I think that\u2019s helped me take the reins,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that people often don\u2019t have the confidence to do something to make a difference, because they think they have to do something huge \u2014 and I was like that, too. That\u2019s why I keep doing interviews and talking about this: The more people we reach, the more people we can inspire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tricia Brick is a New York-area writer.<\/cite><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hillary Sadlon\u2019s 22 acts of giving galvanized the Seton Hall community into action.<\/p>\n