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.”
The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) stands as a vital part of Albemarle County’s emergency services network. Covering over 100 square miles, CVFD responds to a wide range of emergencies, from fire alarms and gas leaks to car accidents and structure fires. Located in Crozet, Virginia, the department operates with a unique structure, balancing professional day crews and community-driven volunteer night crews. Read more about the Madison House volunteer experience.
Charlottesville Area Riding Therapy (CART) provides therapeutic horseback riding lessons for children and adults with disabilities, and volunteers play a key role in offering these sessions. Head Program Director Maggie Monroe got involved with the nonprofit organization her second year at UVA, originally because she was taking a course—Poverty and the Young Child—which had a community service element. “I immediately felt drawn to CART as I have two younger cousins on the spectrum, one with Autism Spectrum Disorder and one with Down Syndrome,” Maggie shares. “I have always loved working with and giving back to this population, and I found CART's mission statement to be exactly what I was looking for.” Read more about CART and the Madison House volunteer experience.
Hot off the t-shirt press! Madison House logo items, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and ball caps are now available through Rivanna Gear & Apparel. John and Susan Turner own this small, local business and are committed to giving back to other local organizations. Read more about the Turners and how your purchase benefits Madison House.
Flowers are not the only thing springing up as the weather turns warmer! Some seasonal Madison House programs, like Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) Community Gardens Program are picking up again after UVA’s spring break ended in mid-March. The program operates from August to mid-November and is in its sixteenth year of helping local food banks like The Haven, Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, the PVCC Food Pantry, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, the Thomas Jefferson Area Food Bank, and The Salvation Army. Read more about this growing program!
The Holiday Sharing Program (HOLS) is one of Madison House’s oldest student-led programs and has long provided Charlottesville families with food and personalized gifts for the holidays, creating a remarkable impact and providing invaluable support to families in the Charlottesville area. This year HOLS partnered with the Hope House Program to serve unhoused parents with minor children in their physical custody. Under the leadership and dedication of Student Head Program Directors Alie Gibson and Carol Cho, enough money was raised to serve 53 families. Read more about this growing program.
New this year, Madison House is partnering with Charlottesville Community Bikes, a nonprofit used-bike shop that sells bikes, performs bike repairs, and offers bike voucher programs to local children, teens & adults. Learn more about the bike referral and bike voucher programs, as well as the volunteer experience at Charlottesville Community Bikes.
UVA Professor Kate Stephenson combines community engagement and writing skills in her first-year writing requirements. Essentially, her courses focus on community-based learning, which Professor Stephenson describes as the “intersection of activism and coursework”. Read more about the benefits of community-engaged learning as shared by Professor Stephenson and her students.
For the past three years, Toni Jackson has been the Madison House community partner for The Gym, a Recreational Therapy program that teaches people of all abilities how to lift and have a great time exercising. During the academic year, the program runs twice a week and has between three to five Madison House volunteers working with seven special athletes at each session. The Gym is a collaborative space, where the volunteers and Jackson work together to support athletes in learning new movements and achieving their fitness aspirations. These close-knit relationships are invaluable, and volunteers carry their experiences with them.
“The time we give is so little, but it has such a big impact,” says Sin Barreras Program Director Lily Clausen on her volunteer experience through Madison House. Sin Barreras is a nonprofit organization devoted to helping immigrants and native Spanish speakers in the broader Charlottesville community. The organization provides a variety of services, including advocacy work, social and legal help, and GED classes. Read more to learn about the opportunities Madison House volunteers have with Sin Barreras.
Madison House, the independent volunteer center for students at the University of Virginia, has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity and the UVA Community Credit Union to offer free tax preparation services for residents in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties. Together, these organizations form the Cville Tax Aid Coalition. The coalition partners offer in-person tax assistance, drop-off service, and 24/7 self-service options.
Madison House is the volunteer center for students at the University of Virginia. Its volunteers and partners have demonstrated great vision and resilience in the face of this global crisis, leading the pivot to virtual volunteering, and developing innovative approaches towards meeting the critical needs of our shared communities. Our programs continue to provide critical mental health support services, remote tax prep for low-income families, safe virtual tutoring for the most at-risk students in local public schools, and virtual support to UVA nurses and medical staff.
The Cville Education Equity collaborated with Youth-Nex, Madison House, and the Equity Center offers resources for teachers and families across the Charlottesville area. The website offers anti-racist curriculum for teachers, virtual education help for families, and food resources for those experiencing food insecurity.
“Basically, we were all having a conversation about how to help area youth and families at this time," UVA Equity Center Director of Community Research Sherica Jones-Lewis said.
Madison House remains dedicated to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the health and safety of our student volunteers, staff, faculty, and Charlottesville community partners and neighbors. Our goal is to especially keep the Charlottesville community safe from harm. With this in mind, the Madison House building will be closed for the fall 2020 semester. The following guidelines have been put in place until further notice…
Influential Madison House program allows volunteer musicians to play for patients during long hospital stays.
When fourth-year College student Grant Frazier decided to combine his passions of music and medicine, he began working with Madison House to bring music into the hospital setting. This idea led to the creation of Harmonies for Healing, a program which sends three student musicians to the University’s Transitional Care Hospital each day with hopes of improving the lives of both patients and medical staff.
The panel discussed how civic engagement can look like anything from going to Charlottesville City Council meetings to simply getting off Grounds.
Freilich said community service like through the Madison House is a great way to do that.
"The most important part is personal relationship," he said. "That way our students are hearing the stories of folks in the community and gaining first-hand knowledge of what's actually happening here in Charlottesville."
Matt Wajsgras, a fourth-year Engineering student and Madison House HALO program director, said his experience volunteering helped him better understand the Charlottesville community surrounding the University.
“When you get a new guest that hasn’t been there before one of the first things they do is they’ll come up and ask about case managers and what options they have for affordable housing and stuff,” Wajsgras said. “So you do hear a lot about it, and you can tell it’s something that’s one of the primary issues.”
The event was hosted by the Madison House, an independent volunteer student center.
"Hosting the IMPACT conference has been a chance for us to bring over 550 or so students and administrators from around the country here to Charlottesville to learn from some of our incredible nonprofit leaders, local activists," stated Tim Freilich, Executive Director of Madison House.
“When access to food is not consistent and dependable, a household is classified as food insecure,” Jane Colony Mills, Loaves & Fishes’ executive director, said. A UVA alumna, Mills herself volunteered with Madison House in a different program when she was a student.
Children make up almost 36 percent of the clientele served at the food pantry, and the percentage of senior citizens has more than doubled to nearly 14 percent, Mills said.
