Community Cares Week

Community Cares Week 2025

Marshall University’s fourth-annual Community Cares Week: Giving Back to the Herd was a continued success, with hundreds of volunteers pitching in to make a positive impact on the university’s campuses and in their hometowns.

The four-day sweat equity event focused on engaging faculty, staff, students, community members, local businesses and alumni chapters to help check off “To Do List” items on the campus, while giving back to the university that has invested in them, as well. Alumni chapters who were unable to make it back to campus worked on service projects in their own communities.

This year, nearly a thousand people pre-registered or walked up to volunteer, working a total of 2,970 service hours. Of those, around 300 volunteered with the alumni association, either on campus or in their hometowns through their Marshall alumni affiliations. Over 100 staff members working as many as all seven shifts led projects and a dozen staff or cabinet members served lunches and drew raffle prizes each day.

Several area groups also volunteered together, including the MU Early Education STEAM Center, Marshall Child Development Academy, Leadership West Virginia, State Electric Supply Company, Otis Elevator Company, Comfort Inn in Barboursville, DARCO International, Amazon, Huntington High School, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, GDI Huntington and the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Major sponsors include AVI Foodsystems, Calvin Broyles Jewelers, Camp Landing Entertainment District, Dreamscape, Ferguson, Jabo Supply, Paris Signs, Pepsico, Precision Grooming, Raymond Bayes, Rumpke, Security Consultants & Solutions, Sherwin Williams, State Electric Supply Company and United Rentals.

To view a video compilation of Community Cares Week, click here. To view photos of volunteers and projects, click here.

Materials used for projects included:

  • 8.5 dumpsters filled with 21,250 lb. of spring cleanout items
  • 28 tons of gravel, stone, pavers and rock
  • 3,500 bags of mulch
  • 2,020 flowers
  • 100 gallons of paint

The following tasks were completed by volunteers:

Landscaping

  • A special paver and landscape wall project outside of Morrow Library was completed by volunteers instead of hiring a contractor, which led to a savings of $33,695. The paver project and other projects on Marshall’s main campus used 100 bags (5,000 lb.) of concrete, 11,000 lb. of gravel and 20,000 lb. of stone. Other special projects on the main campus included the assembly of picnic tables and benches as well as installing concrete for hammocks.
  • New plants and shrubs were added around campus, including the Memorial Student Center Plaza. Mulch was placed around beds across campus, including beds around the Memorial Student Center, the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center, Gibson Hall, Haymaker Hall, Willis Hall, Wellman Hall, Twin Towers East, Twin Towers West, Buskirk Hall and Harless Dining Hall. More than 600 flowers were planted in these areas as well, which were grown from seed and therefore had no cost associated.

Kid-friendly tasks

  • Weeding and mulching vegetable beds in the student garden, sponsored by Marshall’s Sustainability Department, removal of winter plants from 10 elevated beds at the Memorial Student Center followed by planting of summer flowers.

Pressure Washing

  • The Memorial Student Center Plaza, sidewalks and entryways across campus were power washed.

Painting

  • Areas across campus, including four floors in Gibson Hall, rooms in the Memorial Student Center, Drinko Library and steps in the Henderson Center and Joan C. Edwards Stadium were painted.

Housekeeping

  • Nearly nine dumpsters were filled with unwanted items from spring cleanout in buildings across campus, totaling 21,250 lbs. The Memorial Student Center was deep-cleaned.

Detailed breakdown of work accomplished in some locations and cost savings

Housing:
  • Volunteers used 80 gallons of paint and supplies to paint four floors in Gibson Hall.
  • Total volunteer labor for the week: 350 hours.
  • Volunteers used 1,080 bags of mulch around all the following residence halls: Gibson, Haymaker, Willis, Wellman, Twin Towers West, Twin Towers East, Buskirk Hall, Harless Dining Hall.
  • Total labor hrs. for the week, 350 hours.
  • Six-hundred flowers were planted – all grown from seed at Marshall University. No cost.
  • Total cost savings for paint supplies: $4,360.00
  • Total skilled labor (painting) hours: 350 hours x $18/hr = $6,300.00
  • Total cost for mulch, which was provided by Housing and Residence Life as a normal purchase year to year = no cost.
  • Total labor hours for mulching and planting flowers: 340 hours x $13/hr = $4,420.00
  • Supplies used:
    • Paint: 80 gallons
    • Mulch: 1,080 bags
    • Flowers: 600 plants
Facilities and Operations
  • Main Campus
    • Sweat Equity/Cost Savings/Cost Avoidance: $51,503
    • Spring Cleanout: 21,250 lbs. (8.5 dumpsters)
    • Gravel/Stone/Pavers/Rock: 16 tons
    • Mulch: 2,140 bags (4,280 yds)
    • Flowers Planted: 1,068
    • Paint: 6 gallons
  • Satellite Campuses
    • Sweat Equity/Cost Savings/Cost Avoidance: $1,570
    • Gravel/Stone/Pavers/Rock: 12 tons
    • Mulch: 280 bags (560 yds)
    • Flowers Planted: 352

Breakdown

Main Campus
  • Landscaping (180 Volunteers)
    • Mulch: 2140 Bags totaling 4280 cubic yards.
    • Concrete: 100 bags (5,000 lbs)
    • Gravel: 11,000 lbs
    • Stone: 20,000 lbs
    • Flowers Planted: 1,068
  • Dumpsters
    • Weight: 21,250 lbs
    • Disposal Savings: $5,100
  • Paver and Landscape Wall Project Savings vs Contractor: $33,695
  • Sweat Equity
    • Landscaping (Mulching, Planting, Pavers): $6,440
    • Purging: $943
    • Concrete (Hammocks and Pads): $865
    • Picnic Table/Bench Assembly: $140
    • Pressure Washing: $3,375
    • Painting: $945

Satellite Campuses

  • School of Pharmacy (11 Volunteers)
    • Mulch: 140 bags (280 yds)
    • Flowers Planted: 100
    • Sweat Equity: $385
  • South Charleston (19 Volunteers)
    • Mulch: 24 bags (48 yds)
    • Flowers Planted: 72
    • Rock: 12 tons
    • Equipment: Skid Steer
    • Sweat Equity: $665
  • MOVC (16 Volunteers)
    • Mulch: 116 bags (232 yds)
    • Flowers Planted: 180
    • Sweat Equity: $520

Calculation Rates (per hr):

  • Purging – $13
  • Landscaping – $14
  • Concrete/Pavers – $21
  • Painting – $21
  • Pressure Washing – $75