For Miles Morrow ’73, the seeds of a lifetime of service were planted at the University of Maryland. Though he spent much of his time working to put himself through school, the diversity of the campus community and the people he met there—including his future wife—shaped how he saw the world and his role in it.

“The melting pot nature of the student body really gave me a great insight into different ways of thinking and different cultures,” Morrow recalls. “What I drew from Maryland was a great education, pointed work and a great takeaway.”

That takeaway has inspired Morrow to travel the world, and also to get involved right in his own community. After decades commuting to Des Moines, Iowa for work and running his own business, he retired and finally had the time to give back.

“When you get to a certain point in life, you ask yourself: What can I do to help others?” he says. “That’s where my heart led me.”

He joined his local chapter of Kiwanis International, an organization dedicated to serving children around the world. From leading membership and fundraising committees to organizing recycling drives that raised thousands for local youth programs, Morrow found a sense of purpose. “Helping children has become a real passion,” he says.

One of the most impactful initiatives he led was through Funds2Orgs, a program that collects gently used shoes to support microenterprises in developing countries. After visiting the organization’s headquarters in Florida, Morrow launched a campaign in his Iowa town — and collected over 4,000 pairs of shoes in just two and a half months.

“It really struck me when I learned that over 700 million people in the world don’t have shoes,” he says. “We’re so blessed here.”

The program provided multiple benefits: helping lift families out of poverty, reducing landfill waste and raising funds for local children’s organizations. “People brought in bags of shoes — sometimes brand new ones they’d bought just to donate,” he recalls. Local churches and student groups got involved, and the project quickly became a community-wide effort.

Morrow also volunteered with the local food bank, collecting unsold or extra food from retailers like Walmart and Chick-fil-A to serve food-insecure families. “There were people there who had been volunteering for 20 years,” he says. “Some worked 40 hours a week — husband and wife teams. It was so inspiring.”

After spending 50 years in Ames, Iowa, Morrow and his wife recently relocated to Florida, where he’s already getting involved with a new Kiwanis club in the Cocoa Beach area. “It’s a much larger population here — and that means even more need,” he says. “I’m excited to see how we can make an impact.”

Morrow’s message for fellow Terps? Get involved. Stay connected. Pay it forward.

“The rewards you get from giving back are immeasurable — you’ll get far more than you give,” he says. “And you decide the pace. It’s not a job. It becomes a passion.”

Volunteering is a great way to get inolved with fellow Terps.