SU Gives Back During the Holiday Season

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University students, faculty and staff are preparing for the holidays with projects that benefit the whole community and beyond. This year’s efforts include:

• BE A SANTA TO A SENIOR: SU volunteers provide gifts to local seniors who may be financially challenged, in a health care facility, or alone for the holidays, as part of Home Instead’s annual “Be a Santa to a Senior” initiative. These trees are hosted by Conference Services, Financial Services, the Guerrieri Student Union Information Desk, Housing and Residence Life, Human Resources, Physical Plant, Student Affairs and University Police. Last year, more than 120 seniors received gifts from the SU community. 
• SALVATION ARMY ANGEL TREE: Money donated goes to local children to help fulfill their holiday wishes. Some 26% of people under the age of 18 in the Salisbury area live in poverty, according to the Salvation Army. In 2023 more than 1,400 local children were registered for the Angel Tree program.
• GIFTS FOR LOCAL SCHOOL CHILDREN: SU’s Girls on Top of the World student organization has worked to collect holiday gifts for children at nearby Beaver Run Elementary School. This year, they plan to collect and wrap gifts for 40 elementary school children.
• ATHLETES GIVING BACK: SU student-athletes continue to give of their time, registering more than 5,500 hours of community service through the fall semester as more than 86% of student-athletes participated in some volunteer event. Some of those events include volunteering at Hope and Life Outreach Ministry’s (HALO’s) Center of Hope, at the Salisbury Zoo’s clean-up event, and in local schools, among other initiatives.
• TOYS FOR TOTS: The Franklin P. Perdue School of Business is collecting toys for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program for the 22nd year.
• SALVATION ARMY RED KETTLE CAMPAIGN: Faculty and staff in the Perdue School also are volunteering their time for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign around the Salisbury area this December.
• CHESAPEAKE HOUSING MISSION: SU volunteers give their time and effort to make others’ lives a little easier, working with Chesapeake Housing Mission to build wheelchair ramps for homes in the area. SU’s Staff Senate recently completed a local build. SU routinely assists in 10 builds per year.
• LOCATING LOST LOVED ONES: Dr. Brent Zaprowski and students from his geography and geosciences courses used ground-penetrating radar to locate unmarked graves at Waugh Church Cemetery in Cambridge, MD, making it easier for families to honor their loved ones.

Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.