Animals & Environment, Community Partners
Madison House
Madison House Volunteers Flock to Hogs and ...

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 Volunteers Flock to Hogs and Kisses Farm Sanctuary
COVID-19, Community Partners, History, Volunteer Stories, UVA Students
Madison House
Looking Ahead, and Celebrating Over 50 Years of ...

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.

Looking Ahead, and Celebrating Over 50 Years of Madison House Tax Preparation
Volunteer Stories, UVA Students
Madison House
Student Leadership: Chelsea Li

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.

Student Leadership: Chelsea Li
Alumni, Volunteer Stories, Student Athletes
Madison House
Olympic Silver Medalist Paige Madden’s Madison ...

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.”

Olympic Silver Medalist Paige Madden’s Madison House Experience
COVID-19, UVA Students
Madison House
Madison House Youth Mentoring Volunteer ...

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 Youth Mentoring Volunteer Inspires Native American Youth Through Science

Alumni

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Alumni Spotlight: Barnaby Lo

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Alumni Spotlight: Barnaby Lo

Barnaby Lo swiftly ascended the ranks from his initial steps as a CASH volunteer at UVA, becoming a program director in his second year and a head program director in his third and fourth years. Barnaby graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce in 2015 and has since carved a distinguished career path as a Principal at Towerbrook Capital in New York. Reflecting on his journey, Barnaby speaks with a sense of pride and gratitude, attributing much of his success to the life lessons he learned at Madison House. Read more about Barnaby’s volunteer experience at Madison House.

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The Gift of Friendship and the Volunteer Experience

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The Gift of Friendship and the Volunteer Experience

One of the greatest advantages of service is meeting new people. In fact, a highlight of Madison House alumnus Mike Loeffelman’s time at UVA was the close bond he developed with fellow student and volunteer Andrew McCormick. Both Mike and Andrew found that their time at Madison House helped them build relationships and pursue passions that are lifelong journeys, and they have advice for college students contemplating what they want to do and who they want to be.


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Apples Don't Fall Far: Meet the Mother and Daughter Who Both Embraced Madison House

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Apples Don't Fall Far: Meet the Mother and Daughter Who Both Embraced Madison House

Jenna Delgado is a fourth-year UVA student and is in her third year of coaching basketball as a Madison House volunteer. Jenna has spent most of her life volunteering. As a kid, she worked with her mom, Tracy, to pack lunches for kids in the summer so that everyone in her community in Atlanta, Georgia, would be sure to have something to eat during the day. In middle school, Jenna started coaching basketball, something that has continued as a passion and interest of hers. But she never thought back then that she’d attend the same college as her mom and volunteer with the same organization.

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WHAT MAKES FOR A SUCCESSFUL UVA STUDENT? VETERAN PROFESSOR WEIGHS IN AS CLASSES BEGIN

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WHAT MAKES FOR A SUCCESSFUL UVA STUDENT? VETERAN PROFESSOR WEIGHS IN AS CLASSES BEGIN

I am always impressed with the intellectual curiosity of so many of my students. But, I am also impressed at how many appreciate their good fortune, gifts and talents and feel determined to share them with those who are less fortunate. Over the years, more and more of my students share with me their plans to seek humanitarian careers.

Also, as a board member, and now the co-chair of the Madison House, I have been impressed by the number of students who dedicate themselves to a number of community programs, while juggling a rigorous academic load.

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Alumni Spotlight: Jyotika Chandhoke

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Alumni Spotlight: Jyotika Chandhoke

Because of the formative experiences from her time as the Big Event Head Program Director at Madison House, Jyotika decided to make the shift from investment banking into impact investing for a firm that specializes in venture philanthropy. Now, Jyotika and her peers work to invest philanthropic capital efficiently in social enterprises that are driving positive social, economic, and environmental change to tackle some of the most pervasive issues we face today.

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A Young Alumna's Perspective on Giving - Caroline Biondo

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A Young Alumna's Perspective on Giving - Caroline Biondo

As both a former board member and volunteer, Caroline recognizes the importance of service and the impact that Madison House volunteers have in the community. This is why she decided to stay involved as a donor. “When I donate to Madison House,” says Caroline, “I know that my money is going to be used to benefit both the Charlottesville community and UVA students.”

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Alumni Spotlight: Grant Frazier

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Alumni Spotlight: Grant Frazier

At first glance, medicine and music may not appear to have much in common, but Grant Frazier felt differently. He had seen first hand the power of music to bring joy and connection, and he felt that this happiness was its own medicine. As an UVA undergraduate, Grant worked with Madison House to explore this connection and founded the Harmonies for Healing program.

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Olympic Silver Medalist Paige Madden’s Madison House Experience

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Olympic Silver Medalist Paige Madden’s Madison House Experience

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.”

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Madison House Community Partner - The PB&J Fund

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Madison House Community Partner - The PB&J Fund

The PB&J Fund is a community partner of Madison House that improves access to affordable, healthy food for children and families. The fund utilizes a CHEF (Community/Health/Education/Friendship) framework to provide holistic experiences for participants of their programs that are educational, empowering and fun. This framework allows for diets to be improved while building relationships, providing a service that is needed for underserved families in the Charlottesville community.

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FROM LOUISA TO LESOTHO TO MADAGASCAR, SERVICE TOPS COMFORT FOR ALUMNA

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FROM LOUISA TO LESOTHO TO MADAGASCAR, SERVICE TOPS COMFORT FOR ALUMNA

As a first-year student, Loyd got involved with Madison House almost immediately.

“It helped me connect to the community in Charlottesville and have some perspective on my own privilege and feel more like a community member,” she said. “I was not that comfortable in the social scene, in the sorority and fraternity scene. I felt a little bit like fish out of water. … I was a little overwhelmed.

“And so Madison House was a nice way for me to find my people and way of being.”

Once a week, Loyd made a 40-minute drive to Louisa with a fellow volunteer to tutor the teenager.

“I remember being really challenged by her in ways that were important for me to face,” said Loyd, who lost touch with the teen after college. “She would just stand up for herself a lot, kind of like, ‘I don’t want to do that and you have no idea how hard my life is.’

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Madison House celebrates 50 years of serving Charlottesville, empowering students

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Madison House celebrates 50 years of serving Charlottesville, empowering students

Roughly 3,000 students a year volunteer through Madison House. Nearly 40,000 have participated since the center opened in September 1969, according to Tim Freilich (Col ’93, Law ’99), executive director of Madison House and a volunteer there during his undergrad years. In 2018-19 alone, he estimates, students contributed more than 108,000 hours to local projects, from adopt-a-grandparent programs and teacher’s aide positions to patient-care roles at hospitals and free clinics.
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“You can’t learn this type of leadership through a textbook,” Freilich says. “The experience that our 300 student leaders get as they lead their peers is probably the most valuable thing that Madison House does.”

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Gardening for Good: Shantell Bingham

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Gardening for Good: Shantell Bingham

Madison House Alumna Discusses Food Justice

Shantell Bingham is Program Director of the Charlottesville Food Justice Network at City Schoolyard Garden, sits on the board of the Charlottesville Alliance for Black Male Achievement, chairs the Human Rights Commission and is a Dalai Lama Fellowship recipient.  That list is just a few of her achievements. The UVa graduate and North Carolina native goes to work every day with one goal in mind: end food inequality and make sure everyone in the community has access to healthy and nutritious food.

“Right now that’s not the case,” Bingham said. “People of low income and of color have less access to healthy food options than others, for a number of reasons. That needs to change. I’m part of a collaborative movement that can make that happen.”

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ALUMNI, STUDENTS TO MARK HISTORIC ANNIVERSARY WITH FOOD DRIVE

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ALUMNI, STUDENTS TO MARK HISTORIC ANNIVERSARY WITH FOOD DRIVE

“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.

Sewing Change: Madison House alumnae co-found fashion line with focus on social justice

Sewing Change: Madison House alumnae co-found fashion line with focus on social justice

“We’re using the success of Mollie’s designs and product to help raise awareness for, and ideally, help support organizations that have a bigger cause beyond a clothing line,” says co-founder Taylor. She and head designer Mollie credit the experience of public service with organizations like Madison House as integral to their development as entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and creatives.

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Graduates give back: Madison House Alumni Network continues spirit of community service

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Graduates give back: Madison House Alumni Network continues spirit of community service

The Madison House Alumni Network (MHAN) recently hosted two regional community service events for Madison House alumni in the Fairfax, VA and Atlanta, GA areas. The mission of the MHAN is to support and strengthen Madison House's tradition of volunteer service.

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Building leaders: Madison House alumnus helps develop unique new volunteer program

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Building leaders: Madison House alumnus helps develop unique new volunteer program

“It gives students the opportunity to refine both their construction skills and leadership skills,” says Program Director Tessa. “As a Crew Leader, students will use the skills they obtain during training to eventually help other volunteers on a site.”