Hogs and Kisses is a micro-sanctuary that opened its barn doors in Charlottesville in 2021. This year, Madison House is partnering with the farm to give UVA students an opportunity to volunteer with the seven pigs, five rabbits, and two turkeys! Click to learn more about Hogs & Kisses and the volunteer experience.
Madison House’s Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope (CASH) program works to train and coordinate student-volunteers to provide free tax preparation for low- and moderate-income community members…This year marks 15 years since the launch of the C’ville Tax Aid Coalition — a partnership including Madison House and the University of Virginia Community Credit Union that is coordinated by the United Way of Greater Charlottesville. Since its inception in 2007, the Coalition has generated over $35 million in direct economic impact for the Charlottesville area community.
As a first year at the University of Virginia (UVA), Chelsea Li (CLAS ‘20) wanted to soak up all the opportunities that the University had to offer. She found herself exploring new clubs and classes and was especially eager to be in the community. “In high school,” she said, “I felt as if I was missing a lot of the learning that happens outside the classroom.” This desire to stretch her curiosity across disciplines and interests, along with an intrinsic desire to uplift those around her, was what first brought Chelsea to Madison House.
The House has long been a place where students can come to find or rediscover themselves and their place within the community. This held true for Paige, who shared that “it gives me peace of mind knowing that I am a good swimmer but that's not what defines me. There's so much more to life, like helping others. My time at Madison House has allowed me to see that.”
Kruse, from Ridgeland, Mississippi, is a fourth-year student in the McIntire School of Commerce. She initially got involved in the program because of her prior experience in advocacy work.
“Ultimately, the goal of the program is for students to learn about environmental science through a native lens,” Kruse said. “Maelee Hearington, another UVA student, and I wrote the curriculum to focus on science, social activism and social justice. We also provide additional resources like workbooks, markers, easels and notebooks.”
Madison House is the independent volunteer center for students at the University. They do it all — coordinate volunteers, develop student leaders and even build community partnerships. With over 20 ongoing programs like recreational therapy, athletics and child care, volunteering at Madison House gives students the chance to do something fun and enjoyable while simultaneously helping out the Charlottesville community. Registration is available online with a University email.
Student involvement with the project will also be possible through Engagements courses, which serve as the foundation of the general education experience, as well as research projects aimed at improving early childhood education and potential volunteer activities coordinated with student organizations like Madison House.
Subhash’s tennis game is founded upon control and organization, as those around her tell it. When asked about her on-court presence, Coach Sara O’Leary describes her style of play as all-court and focused.
When she isn’t beating up on ACC competition, studying or trying new pastries, Subhash does her best to give back to the community, where she helps tutor younger students in math and reading comprehension through Madison House.
Madison House, the independent volunteer center for students at the University, has continued to organize service work throughout the pandemic, confronting challenges of volunteer work in a virtual world and adapting programming to respond to the Charlottesville community’s most pressing needs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided program directors at Madison House with an opportunity to think about the accessibility of programs and to reevaluate student and community participation, according to Johnson. New programs have included closer connections to the University Equity Center in order to promote this accessibility.
ASB has been a prominent CIO at the University since 1992 when it began as a part of Madison House before eventually branching off. ASB provides service-based travel opportunities to students on Grounds at locations across the United States, and in past years, has organized between 15 and 30 national trips. Programs work with organizations like the National Park Service and Habitat for Humanity International over the span of a normal, seven-day spring break.
In 2018, Student Council and the Inter-Sorority Council piloted a menstrual hygiene program, which involved placing free menstrual hygiene products in five Newcomb Hall bathrooms for a two week period. Additional funding was provided for the initiative in 2019, with locations of free menstrual hygiene products expanding to bathrooms in Newcomb Hall, Madison House and various libraries on Grounds.
Members of Period at U.Va. work to continue educating University students and community members about menstruation while addressing the menstrual needs of students on Grounds.
Most Madison House volunteering programs have been unable to operate as normal for nearly a year now. In-person volunteering continues to be suspended, however, three of the almost 40 Madison House Medical Services programs — Rounding with Heart, Pediatric Genetic Counseling and Spanish Interpretation — have found creative ways to overcome these limitations and continue to execute the Madison House mission of serving the needs of the Charlottesville community through virtual means.
Madison House hospital volunteer shifts and late-night study sessions at Clemons Library are typical elements of a pre-health student’s life at the University. However, COVID-19 has restricted access to the key professional and social experiences that define the pre-health journey at the University. Although shadowing opportunities and clinical volunteering experiences are scarce, many University premed students have adapted to the current climate and have pursued their passion for medicine in unique ways.
The strong community that exists among the University’s students would be nothing without the support of the broader Charlottesville community. For that reason, Madison House directors and student volunteers have remained dedicated to serving the people of Charlottesville and supporting them through the most difficult times of the pandemic. Although Madison House’s volunteer services will function very differently than in previous years, many efforts will continue virtually in order to strengthen the Charlottesville community.
“Our programs will focus almost exclusively on virtual volunteering,” said Rose Cole, Madison House director of community engagement, in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “There will be some exceptions made for in-person volunteering based on community needs — focused only on medical services, food insecurity and food justice and support for essential workers — but we can’t begin in-person volunteering until we know how safe it will be.”
Volunteering is a great way to keep in touch with the U.Va. and Charlottesville communities and is especially needed during the pandemic. Organizations like Madison House and United Way of Greater Charlottesville provide great online resources for how to volunteer and help the community — plus they offer virtual programs to volunteer remotely.
Leemis was described by his family as having “a kind and compassionate heart” — someone who “enjoyed bringing music to others” through his eight years as an accomplished fifer in the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums Corps. During his time at the University, Leemis was a volunteer with Madison House, in addition to his work as a catering associate with U.Va. Dining.
Without the commitment of having to practice nearly every day of the week for hours at a time, Mathis had more time to dedicate to other things. In fact, one of the first things Mathis did was sign up to volunteer through Madison House, where she became actively involved in activities like tutoring and helping out at the homeless shelter.
During this time, Mathis also became involved in the food justice movement in Charlottesville, and she even interned with two different organizations working on this issue. Mathis doesn’t believe she would’ve been able to do many of those things if she remained on the swimming team.
During his first Board meeting last June, Wang brought in representatives from IfYoureReadingThis.org and Madison House’s HELP Line for a panel about the importance of mental health.
IfYourReadingThis.org is an online mental health resource that provides letters of support from members of the University community to readers who are seeking emotional support. Madison House’s HELP Line is a 24/7, student-run free and confidential service that is available to students in need of someone to talk to during a distressing time.
Volunteering with children made me consider the stigma surrounding body accessories and tattoos
I was never forced to confront my impulsive decision head-on until last semester when I signed up to volunteer in an elementary school classroom through Madison House. Insecurities suddenly flooded my mind. What would the teachers think of me? Would they see me as unprofessional? And most dauntingly, what would the children — in all of their reckless and unconstrained honesty — say about me?
Or would they even say anything at all? I knew my father’s world is completely different from my own, so I wondered if students and younger teachers in today’s school system would even have an opinion. I know from my own upbringing that millennials and members of Generations Z and Alpha have been raised on messages of self-expression and acceptance, so the youth of today must be far more used to seeing tattoos and piercings on a day-to-day basis.
Popular Madison House program helps both adult and child Latinx migrants gain academic, applicable skills
For University students, it can be easy to get lost in the UVa bubble. Latinx & Migrant Aid (LAMA), a Madison House program, encourages students to involve themselves within the larger Charlottesville community by engaging with the region’s migrant workers.
With six volunteering sites, eight program coordinators, four community partners and 74 student volunteers, LAMA is a Madison House program dedicated to helping Latinx migrant workers and their children in Charlottesville improve their English speaking and general academic skills.
Bryant hopes to involve other students in the President’s Council, noting that many of the relationships that the University has developed with the community come from connections with students, such as mentoring through Madison House.
“Even if [students] aren't officially members of the working groups, making sure that [students] are able to come to the meetings and give input,” Bryant said. “And if we have surveys, I think student voice will be prioritized.”
The Virginia Athletics department launched ACE as a way to connect student athletes with volunteering opportunities. Currently, the program has almost 70 athletes, and last fall, the program teamed up with Madison House. Under the leadership of Rachel Clark, Class of 2019 alumna and one of Madison House’s 2018-2019 community engagement interns, ACE has made it easier to send athlete volunteers into local elementary schools.
The tabling event was the first of its kind and featured a series of stress-relieving activities.
Students stopped by South Lawn over the course of three hours Thursday afternoon to participate in a “Mental Health on the Lawn” event. Hosted by Madison House’s Help Line, If You’re Reading This and National Alliance on Mental Illness on Grounds — three student organizations dedicated to providing students with the resources and help they need for a wide variety of situations relating to mental health and mental illness — the event focused on promoting a healthy and transparent mental health culture on Grounds.
The event was focused on celebrating Baddeliyanage’s memories and positive impacts on the community.
The University community hosted a “Celebration of Life” event Sunday morning in Old Cabell Hall for Rehan Baddeliyanage, the fourth-year Engineering student who unexpectedly passed away in an accident over spring break. The remembrance event was followed by a reception in the McIntire School of Commerce’s Art Gallery and Courtyard. Approximately 200 people were in attendance.
Fourth-year College student Alex Cintron is the first Latinx Student Council president in the University’s history.
As the first Latinx Student Council president in the University’s history Cintron said that, while he felt uncomfortable in some environments which the position required him to engage with, his perspective empowered him to act differently than previous Student Council presidents.
“This is my form of resisting what has been the normal narrative for Student Council president,” Cintron said.
