Photo by Sean Quinn
Local residents and Seton Hall University students, alumni and faculty gather after their games for a reception July 28 at the Aspiring Kindness golf outing at the Maplewood Country Club. The event, held in memory of a SHU student who died in a dorm fire, raised funds for the SHU counseling center.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — Though Aaron Karol lost his life in the Seton Hall University dormitory fire 14 years ago, his memory continues to live on thanks to the work of the Aspiring Kindness Foundation established in his honor.
Aspiring Kindness, a nonprofit organization, furthered Karol’s legacy Monday, July 28, with its second charity golf outing at the Maplewood Country Club. This year the event, which was followed by a dinner reception with a raffle and silent auction moderated by 1010 WINS news anchor Glenn Schuck, raised money for Seton Hall’s counseling and psychological services department.
According to Aspiring Kindness co-founder Sameer Joshi, 110 people attended the event, a significant turnout considering it was held during a weekday. Though the total amount of money raised was not known by press time, Joshi estimated that the foundation had come close to its $10,000 goal.
But regardless of how much money was generated by the outing, Aspiring Kindness co-founder and event organizer Jason Tarantino takes comfort knowing his charity is fulfilling its purpose: ensuring that some good comes from the Jan. 19, 2000, tragedy that killed Karol, Frank Caltabilota and John Giunta, and left 58 injured.
“We cannot change what happened,” Tarantino told the News-Record in a July 25 phone interview. “But we can prevent future incidents. Hopefully, there will never be another tragedy like the Seton Hall fire.”
The Aspiring Kindness Foundation was established in 2010 by eight of Karol’s high school friends. Its mission is to honor Karol, whose nickname “AK” and Chinese symbol tattoo inspired the charity’s name and logo, by educating people about fire safety and raising money for first responders.
According to Tarantino, Aspiring Kindness has so far raised approximately $70,000, half of which has been donated to organizations that include: the South Orange Rescue Squad, the Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation and the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
“In three and a half years, we could not be more delighted and proud of the progress we have made,” Tarantino said. “We have been able to do a lot and show what we have done, which not a lot of other organizations can say.”
For the golf outing, Aspiring Kindness chose to benefit Seton Hall’s counseling and psychological services department due to the help it provided those traumatized by the blaze 14 years ago. Though the department is not a first responder in the literal sense, Joshi said the support it provided following the fire deserves to be recognized.
“After that tragic event, they supported the students as well as the parents,” Joshi told the News-Record. “Everyone in the community, they were there to support. So if they were there to support them, we are here now to support them. It is paying it forward again. That is what we do.”
Seton Hall University Counseling and Psychological Services Director Katherine Evans told the News-Record in a July 24 phone interview the donated money will go toward programs raising awareness for suicide prevention and stress relief. She said it will also help expand the initiative that brings in therapy dogs for students during final exams.
Though the money was completely unexpected, Evans said the department is very grateful and will make sure to mention Karol whenever it holds a program.
“It was a wonderful surprise,” Evans said. “We were very honored. We will do our best to honor Aaron Karol.”
The fact Karol’s memory lives on is important to his parents, Joe and Candy Karol. More than a decade after his death, the Karols said they remember their only son as a great person, a serious soccer player who was kind and compassionate off the field.
“He was the best son a parent could ever have,” Joe Karol told the News-Record at the event. “He did not have a mean bone in his body. He loved everybody he met. And it did not matter their religion, their race, their creed, their color; he just had such a mix of friends. He had no prejudice toward anybody whatsoever.”
The Karols said they were astonished when several of their son’s friends established Aspiring Kindness on the 10th anniversary of their son’s death. They pointed out that the foundation was entirely the friends’ undertaking, saying their son’s friends had even funded some of the charity’s first events out of their own pockets.
“It is amazing,” Candy Karol told the News-Record at the event. “They just thought so much of Aaron, and loved him so much. This is what they have done.”
Joe Karol added that they will always support Aspiring Kindness and attend its events. He said the work its founders have done fills them with pride.
“In effect, we look at them like sons,” Joe Karol said. “We are very proud.”
The next event sponsored by Aspiring Kindness will be the fifth annual Kocktails for a Cause, which will be held in January.