Sarah Janiga was sitting alone at a cafeteria table her senior year of high school. She wasn't her normal optimistic self because she was dealing with fibromyalgia pain and stressing about school work.
That's when a stranger walked up to her and asked her how her day was. He was nice and took her tray up for her.
His kindness made Janiga' day better and inspired her to always be kind to others.
The experience and her love of serving others caused the public relations major to sign up and become campaign director for Public Relations Student Society of America's Random Acts of Kindness Foundation campaign competition.
She found out about the competition close to the deadline, but PRSSA members sophomore Holly Gillham, junior Clint Muhlenkamp and junior Allison Tuley decided to take on the challenge to create the kindness campaign on short notice.
"I don't think any of us would have taken it on if we didn't think it was for a greater purpose," Janiga said.
The competition is nationwide and open to all PRSSA chapters. The goal is to create the most effective PR campaign for the foundation.
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a nonprofit whose goal is to make the world a better place by inspiring people to take part in kind actions. Its website has resources to educate people about the benefits and get people involved in spreading kindness.
The four PRSSA students that make up the campaign team for Ball State must conduct research, create a plan, promote and implement their campaign plan and evaluate the effectiveness, according to the competition guidelines.
Ball State's PRSSA chapter will receive $750 dollars if it is selected as the winner by the Random Acts of Kindness public relations representatives.
The campaign Ball State's chapter created is Spring into Kindness Week, which begins today. The event kicks off with the team and their partner, The Free Hug Society, giving out compliments at the Scramble Light for "Give a Compliment Monday."
"The fact that there needs to be an event for kindness shows how people can get so wrapped up in their own thing that they don't realize how much being kind is a part of life," sophomore biology and anthropology major Orlando Acevedo, who is participating in the week, said.
The two groups will also partner in "Smile, Sing and Hug Friday." Since The Free Hug Society usually leads "Free Hug Friday," the PRSSA team will provide more people to give hugs and play music during this time.
Grace Perdew, president of The Free Hug Society and junior actuarial science major, said the group is helping out during the week for the same reason it gives out free hugs: to spread the love.
"There is no good reason not to be kind," she said. "Only good things can come out of it."
Janiga said the group wanted the campaign to be simple so students could get involved easily. The team also wants people to remember to be kind every day of the week.
"While we want people to be kind next week, we want them to learn it is always rewarding," Muhlenkamp said.
The campaign team held a focus group session earlier in the month to research what students think kindness means and why people resist from engaging in kind acts all the time. The focus group concluded that the reason many people don't perform random acts of kindness more often is because they are shy or don't know if someone wants their help.
Acevedo said he wishes the event was not necessary for people to think about being kind. He will conduct simple acts that have the possibility to make someone's day, such as smiling, holding the door open for strangers and asking people how their day is.
Janiga said when people are kind to each other it creates a sense of community and when there is a sense of community, people are kinder to each other.
"I hope to help make campus an even happier place," she said.
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