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.
SPLASH (Swimming Protects Lives and Sparks Hope) and the Virginia Discovery Museum (VDM) volunteer programs at Madison House both offer unique windows for UVA students to engage with children in the Charlottesville community. Read more about these Education & Youth volunteer opportunities through Madison House.
In an era where college students are increasingly focused on academic achievement and career prospects, volunteering with a non-profit organization like Madison House that places students in community service roles offers a unique and invaluable opportunity. This experience goes far beyond simply fulfilling a requirement or padding a resume; it is a transformative journey that builds essential skills, fosters leadership, creates lasting relationships, and encourages ethical engagement with the community. Read on to learn the top 15 benefits of volunteering that students cite most frequently.
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!
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.
“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.
At the University of Virginia, we pride ourselves on being an elite university that prepares its students to serve the public. Madison House, hundreds of CIOs, and various NGOs in and around the University are full of students looking to serve, and there is a lot of good service, too. However, there is a component to public service that is necessary but often forgotten: humility. And I mean genuine humility, not just the sort we hear all too often as a preamble to accepting recognition ("I am humbled to….").
Photographs were selected as representative of the various public service work in which University students engage throughout the year—from Alternative Spring Break trips to volunteering with Madison House programs to community-based research projects abroad—we are excited to showcase and celebrate the partnerships between the University, the local community, and beyond.
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.
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."
UVA’s 750 student-athletes routinely take time out from classes, practices and games to volunteer in the community – in schools, in hospitals, at Habitat for Humanity builds, assisted-living facilities, Special Olympics events and more.
Some of UVA’s student-athletes volunteer through Athletes Committed to Education, or ACE, a Madison House program that connects more than 50 student-athletes to local elementary schools. They visit the schools on a weekly basis, allowing them to form strong bonds with students week after week, year after year.
“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.
Madison House's 2017 Volunteer of the Year, Jamie Cranmer, asked three Loaves and Fishes volunteers from Madison House's Hoos Assisting With Life Obstacles (HALO) program to share the one thing they wish more people knew about clients in need of food assistance. Read Jamie's reflections and find out what these volunteers shared.
