The four-day sweat equity event engaged faculty, staff, students, community members, local businesses and alumni chapters in projects designed to improve Marshall’s campuses while giving back to the university and surrounding communities. Alumni chapters that were unable to make it back to campus worked on service projects in their own communities.
This year, nearly 1,000 people pre-registered or walked up to volunteer, contributing a total of 3,455 service hours while working alongside Marshall President Brad D. Smith and First Lady Alys Smith on projects across campus and throughout the community. Of those, more than 400 volunteered with the Marshall University Alumni Association, either on campus or in their hometowns through their Marshall alumni affiliations. More than 100 staff members led projects throughout the week, with some working all seven shifts. In addition, more than two dozen staff and cabinet members — along with volunteers from Woodlands Retirement Community — served lunches and conducted daily raffle prize drawings.
Several area groups also volunteered together, including the MU Early Education STEAM Center, Marshall Child Development Academy, HHS custodial service company, WSAZ-TV, ZMM Architects and Engineers, Appalachian Power, the West Virginia Autism Training Center, Leadership West Virginia, the Comfort Inn in Barboursville and the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Major sponsors include Canteen, Dreamscape, Ferguson, Hampton Inn, HHS, Lowe’s of Ashland, Rumpke, Sherwin-Williams, Sodexo, State Electric Supply Company and United Rentals.
Through projects completed on Marshall’s main and satellite campuses, volunteers generated more than $78,000 in combined sweat equity, cost savings and cost avoidance during Community Cares Week. Projects included landscaping, painting, pressure washing, custodial cleaning, spring cleanout efforts and campus beautification initiatives that otherwise would have required significant contractor or labor costs.
To view a video news release from Community Cares Week, click here. To view photos of volunteers and projects, click here.
The following materials were used and projects were completed:
- 41 tons of gravel, stone and pavers used across landscaping projects
- One ton of concrete used for hammock pole installations
- 1,170 bags of mulch placed across Marshall campuses
- 992 flowers planted across Marshall campuses
- 922 exterior windows cleaned
- 41 tons of spring cleanout and purged materials removed
- 2,050 pavers installed
- Five hammock poles installed
- Two picnic tables assembled
- 12 Adirondack chairs assembled
- 100 gallons of paint used for campus painting projects
- 575 classroom desks and 23 classrooms cleaned
- 20 campus benches cleaned
- 3,000 pounds of dirt and debris removed from athletics parking lots.
The following tasks were completed by volunteers:
Landscaping
- Pavers, hammock poles, picnic tables and Adirondack chairs were installed at Marshall’s first-year residence halls and other campus locations. The paver project alone resulted in an estimated contractor savings of $16,000.
- River rock, limestone, mulch and gravel projects were completed at Morrow Library, including around the library bell area.
- Graveling and landscaping projects were completed along John Marshall Drive and outside of the Education Building.
- Landscaping volunteers completed mulching, flower planting and beautification projects across campus using more than 1,000 bags of mulch and nearly 1,000 flowers. Facilities and Operations landscaping projects generated an estimated $5,810 in sweat equity savings, while Housing and Residence Life mulching projects generated an additional estimated labor savings of $6,720.
- Additional landscaping and beautification projects were completed at the Mid-Ohio Valley Center, including planting flowers, mulching, tree trimming and facility repairs.
- Volunteers completed landscaping and cleanup projects at Project Hope for Women & Children and the Erma Ora Byrd Clinical Center wellness center, including power washing, weed pulling, flower planting and mulching. Volunteers also painted a storage building and cleaned children’s toys at Project Hope.
Kid-friendly tasks
- Child volunteers planted flowers in pots and at landscaping sites across campus.
Pressure Washing
- Pressure washing projects were completed at the Memorial Student Center, the Marshall University Police Department, Myers Hall, Prichard Hall, the Science Building, Old Main and Smith Hall.
- A drone was utilized to assist with pressure washing at John Deaver Drinko Library.
- Pressure washing projects generated an estimated $9,563 in sweat equity savings.
Painting
- Painting projects were completed on the first through fourth floors of Willis Hall using 80 gallons of paint and supplies. Housing and Residence Life volunteers contributed 480 labor hours to the project, resulting in an estimated labor savings of $10,080.
- Athletics volunteers painted football goal posts and applied primer to stadium seating areas before weather conditions halted completion.
Housekeeping and Cleaning
- Window cleaning projects were completed at the Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex (WAEC), Smith Hall, Morrow Library, Harris Hall, Old Main, Corbly Hall and Jack Cook Field.
- Volunteers cleaned 387 windowpanes across the WAEC and Smith Hall.
- Inside cleaning projects included 10 classrooms, 250 classroom chairs, the Henderson Center pedestrian bridge and rooms in Wellman Hall.
- Volunteers cleaned out 160 residence hall rooms in Haymaker and Wellman Halls, as well as 250 rooms in Twin Towers East.
- Campus cleanout and purging projects removed approximately 41 tons of materials from buildings across Marshall’s campuses, filling multiple dumpsters at Old Main, the Science Building, Smith Hall, the Cam Henderson Center and satellite campuses.
- Spring cleanout and disposal efforts generated an estimated $41,000 in cost avoidance and savings.
Athletics
- Volunteers cleaned parking lots, removed 3,000 pounds of dirt and debris, cleaned windows at Jack Cook Field and completed additional maintenance projects throughout athletics facilities.