{"id":1879,"date":"2026-05-22T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/?p=1879"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:32:58","slug":"still-giving-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/2026\/05\/22\/still-giving-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Still Giving Back"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sandra Morris still remembers the tiny drawer.<\/p>\n

One drawer. One-fourth of a closet. Four women sharing a single room inside Marshall University\u2019s Buskirk Hall during the fall of 1968.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were two sets of bunk beds,\u201d Morris recalled with a laugh. \u201cEach of us had one drawer and two of us shared a closet.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Morris, those early memories of campus life remain vivid more than five decades later. So vivid, in fact, that when she returned to Buskirk Hall during Marshall\u2019s first Community Cares Week<\/a> to help paint bathroom stalls, it felt like stepping back in time.<\/p>\n

\"Sandra
Sandra volunteering in Buskirk Hall during Marshall\u2019s inaugural Community Cares Week, June 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018It\u2019s in great shape, but it hasn\u2019t changed,\u2019 \u201d she said. \u201cI saw a room and it still looked the same. So that was neat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now in its fifth year, Community Cares Week has become a meaningful tradition for Marshall students, employees, alumni and community volunteers who spend the week helping beautify campus through service projects large and small.<\/p>\n

And Morris has been there every step of the way.<\/p>\n

A 1972 Marshall graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary education, Morris returned this year for her fifth consecutive Community Cares Week volunteer experience \u2014 continuing a relationship with Marshall that has spanned nearly 60 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just nice to be able to give back in this way,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s always wanting money \u2014 the financial part \u2014 and this time, it\u2019s if you\u2019ve got the time, which I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That spirit of giving has followed Morris throughout her life.<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cEveryone\u2019s always wanting money \u2014 the financial part \u2014 and this time, it\u2019s if you\u2019ve got the time, which I do.\u201d <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t- Sandra Morris<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Originally from Mason County, she spent 10 years working in education before serving another 22 years in Kanawha County, eventually retiring as principal of Shoals Elementary School.<\/p>\n

After helping care for her parents in their later years, Morris and her husband relocated to Huntington in 2019, settling into a home just across from Marshall\u2019s soccer field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my friend saw it, she said, \u2018I don\u2019t think you could be any closer than if you were in the dorm,\u2019\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

Living so close to campus deepened a connection that had never really faded.<\/p>\n

The couple became regulars at Marshall sporting events and performances, attending everything from soccer matches to concerts at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center. They joined the Marshall Recreation Center, became active supporters of athletics and immersed themselves in university life once again.<\/p>\n

But Community Cares Week offered something different.<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cIt\u2019s also good to meet young people, too, that work here now and have a different perspective.\u201d <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t- Sandra Morris<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\u201cThis is giving of time,\u201d Morris said. \u201cIt\u2019s also good to meet young people, too, that work here now and have a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Morris has volunteered in the bookstore during renovations, worked in the university\u2019s childcare center and assisted with projects tied to sustainability efforts. This year, she volunteered at Marshall\u2019s thrift store as part of sustainability initiatives on campus.<\/p>\n

For her, the projects themselves matter \u2014 but so does the feeling behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re a Marshall grad or not, it\u2019s a way you can contribute a couple of hours of your time,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s time \u2014 we all have it. It\u2019s just how we use it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives you a nice, pleasant feeling in your heart to think you\u2019ve done something that has maybe helped the campus look prettier, or a certain part of campus to make it look nicer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long before Community Cares Week existed, Morris was building memories on the same campus she now helps care for each spring.<\/p>\n

\"Sandra
Sandra Morris volunteering in Marshall\u2019s Thrift Store during the university\u2019s 5th annual Community Cares Week<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After spending one semester in Buskirk Hall, she moved to Laidley Hall, where she later served as a resident advisor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing about being an R.A. was controlling the use of the phone in the hallway,\u201d she said. \u201cIt had a 20-minute limit, I think. And I think about that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other memories are harder.<\/p>\n

Morris was living in Laidley Hall in 1970 when the Marshall plane crash happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a rainy, dreary night,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n

She remembers classmates who never returned to their seats. The silence that followed when students returned to class. The grief that settled over campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my husband, \u2018I lived this,\u2019\u201d she said, recalling the emotions she felt years later while watching \u201cWe Are Marshall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through every chapter \u2014 student, educator, alumna, volunteer \u2014 Marshall has remained a constant thread in Morris\u2019 life.<\/p>\n

And each year during Community Cares Week, she returns once again \u2014 not for recognition, but for the simple act of helping.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad they started it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s things you can do if you want to give your time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Morris, giving back to Marshall has never been about grand gestures.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, it\u2019s as simple as showing up, picking up a paintbrush and helping care for a place that has always felt like home.<\/p>\n

—
\nLearn more about Community Cares Week<\/a> and remember to check back next spring to sign up to volunteer!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sandra Morris still remembers the tiny drawer. One drawer. One-fourth of a closet. Four women sharing a single room inside Marshall University\u2019s Buskirk Hall during the fall of 1968. \u201cThere were two sets of bunk beds,\u201d Morris recalled with a laugh. \u201cEach of us had one drawer and two of us shared a closet.\u201d For […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moments"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1879"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1891,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1879\/revisions\/1891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}