UVA Parents Fund Gives Generously to the Student Experience

Madison House is incredibly thankful to the UVA Parents Fund for their generous support during this academic year. UVA Today featured Madison House in a story about how the Parents Fund enhances the experience of University students through grants. Click the link below to read all about the technological upgrades we are able to make thanks to their grant of nearly $28,000.

Here is an excerpt from the UVA Today article:

“… There is a debt of service due from every man to his country, proportioned to the bounties which nature & fortune have measured to him.”
-- Thomas Jefferson to Edward Rutledge, Dec. 27, 1796
Jefferson’s notion of service to community is woven throughout the University of Virginia. Madison House, UVA’s largest volunteer clearinghouse, enables approximately one in five undergraduates to serve the community each each year.
Among other things, that means more sports coaches for young teams in the Charlottesville-Albemarle community, more volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and more UVA students working with refugee youth arriving to Charlottesville from countries like Burma, Congo, Iraq and Liberia.
“We have about 3,100 students who volunteer on a weekly basis throughout the year at 168 local sites,” Tim Freilich, Madison House’s executive director, said. That service was worth $2.5 million last year. But logging all of those volunteer hours had become a chore because Madison House was using an antiquated system.
For help, Freilich turned to the UVA’s Parents Fund, which makes annual grants to enhance the undergraduate student experience. A grant of nearly $28,000 enabled the volunteer hub to upgrade to a sophisticated system that enables students to log their hours using a smart phone. The funding was also used to upgrade Madison House’s computer lab.
Would Madison House have been able to make the upgrades without the grant? “No,” Freilich said. “The grant is letting us upgrade our systems in a way that we would not have been able to do otherwise.”

Read the complete story HERE

Save the Date for The BIG Event, a Day of Service

The BIG Event is the largest day of community service nationwide for college students, and Madison House — the volunteer hub for University of Virginia students  — is bringing it to Charlottesville for the second year in a row. In 2015, Madison House's The Big Event at U.Va. served about 40 job sites via the help of 400 U.Va. student volunteers.

In 2016, Madison House is preparing for The BIG Event will be even, well, bigger! Hundreds of U.Va. students will come together to perform acts of service throughout Charlottesville on Saturday, April 9, 2016 from 9:00am-1:00pm.

The goal of Madison House’s The BIG Event is to encourage the U.Va. student body to serve neighboring residents as well as the local organizations that work tirelessly to improve Charlottesville. Many non-profit organizations, charities, and individuals in the Charlottesville community have a wish-list of projects that they never seem to have the time and resources to finish. Volunteers with The BIG Event will help complete those projects.

Volunteer registration opens online at madisonhouse.org/thebigevent on Monday, February 15, 2016. The deadline for University students to register to volunteer is March 25. Students are welcome to register individually or as under a group affiliation (as a CIO, fraternity, or sorority, for example) or simply with your friends!

From February 8 through February 12, student organizers of The BIG Event will raise awareness about volunteer recruitment on Grounds. Students will table daily from 11:00am until 2:00pm at Newcomb Hall to give prospective volunteers the opportunity to indicate their interest.

More than 3,179 U.Va. students volunteer through Madison House in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area every week during the academic year. Because all of Madison House’s other volunteer opportunities require a weekly commitment, The Big Event is the perfect way for ‘Hoos to give back to the community if they already have a busy schedule.

For more information about Madison House's The BIG Event, please visit www.madisonhouse.org/thebigevent.

 

Charlottesville Area Community Foundation

Madison House has received two grants recently from The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band and the Enriching Communities grant program, both in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. 

Madison House is grateful for the generous support of The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, which awarded a $5,000 grant to support our Cavs in the Classroom program. Last semester, 182 University of Virginia students volunteered in local elementary schools every week through that program. You can watch a fun video about Cavs in the Classroom filmed by Charlottesville Newsplex here.

Madison House is equally thankful to the Enriching Communities program of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation for generously supporting Madison House's Latino and Migrant Aid (LAMA) program with a $5,000 grant. Madison House’s LAMA program serves the Albemarle County and Charlottesville region's low-­income adults and children as referred by our community partners, Albemarle Regional Migrant Education (a department of Albemarle County Public Schools) and the Iglesia Rios de Agua Viva. Madison House is very excited to partner with the CACF to continue the meaningful work of LAMA this year!

 

Holiday Sharing Volunteers Help Local Families

Holiday Sharing is a Madison House program that provides toys, gifts, and non-perishable food for local families need in partnership with the Salvation Army. About 50 students worked together during the fall semester to make Distribution Day 2015 (on December 5) a success. This past Saturday, Madison House volunteers with our Holiday Sharing program made the season merry and bright for 160 local families by tirelessly distributed toys, gifts, and non-perishable food in partnership with the Salvation Army.

During this semester, Holiday Sharing volunteers planned two new events, "Holidays in October" and a canned food drive, which raised over $1,000 combined. Each volunteer serves about three hours a week -- until the week leading up to Distribution Day when some volunteers serve over 15 hours!

Eric Macblane, the Head Program Director for Holiday Sharing and third-year Engineering student, said:

"Holiday Sharing is truly a coming together of the larger community. Without everyone coming together through this program, we would not be able to provide for the 160 Charlottesville families we work with over the holidays. At the heart of it are about 50 volunteers who work extremely hard to build the connections and partnerships necessary for the holiday season. At the end of the day, we have one community of kind, caring, and thankful people who all walk away happier from this program."

Thank you to all of our generous "Santa" level sponsors.

Thank you to all of our generous "Santa" level sponsors.

Thank You for your Support on #GivingTuesday

Thanks to YOU, Madison House raised a total of $34,423 on ‪#‎GivingTuesday‬ to support volunteer service programs for University of Virginia students. Alumni, parents of volunteers, and friends of Madison House from near and far gave $24,423 and two donors gave a matching gift of $10,000 to continue the legacy of service among 'Hoos. We are so thankful for your support!

Support Madison House on #GivingTuesday

Today is #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. It's a day for showing your support for what you're passionate about: volunteering through Madison House and creating a legacy of service for the next generation of 'Hoos.

Today, your gift means more than ever because two generous donors have pledged to match every gift to Madison House dollar for dollar until 11:59pm, up to a total of $10,000! That means you can double the impact of your gift by supporting Madison House today. 

For our alumni, parents, and friends of Madison House, we are counting on you to help us meet this exciting challenge. No gift is too small and every gift really does matter.

#GivingTuesday is just one day, but with your help, it can be a day that makes a powerful difference for Madison House volunteers and our community partners.

Please consider making a gift today via madisonhouse.org/give.

Madison House featured in C-VILLE Weekly

Did you see Madison House in the current issue of the C-VILLE Weekly? Madison House is one of seven groups included in the cover story "Volunteer core: 'Tis the season to give back."

According to the article, "when UVA students hear 'volunteer' they think of Madison House" -- and we couldn't agree more! Check out the full story (which includes interviews with student leaders) here.

Here is an excerpt:

"'It was a great experience just seeing that all of these students really care about giving back. It’s encouraging to me that people are still that kind and generous to participate in volunteer service,' Brian Lee, a Program Director and University of Virginia student, speaking about his experience coordinating Madison House volunteers this semester."

Read the full article HERE.

[Image credit: Amy Jackson for the C-VILLE Weekly]

Happy Thanksgiving from Madison House

This past Sunday, Madison House's Big Siblings program hosted a Thanksgiving-style meal. During the event, a Little named Nyah wrote down a list of what she was thankful for (pictured), and she even included Madison House!

We are thankful for the 3,100+ University of Virginia students who selflessly volunteer every week with our 168 community partner sites. Whether it's mentoring a child like Nyah in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge, stocking the shelves of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, or building homes with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville(to name just a few examples), their service makes a positive impact on the Charlottesville-Albemarle region.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Holiday Sharing in The Cavalier Daily

The Cavalier Daily featured Madison House's Holiday Sharing program in a recent article:

Holiday Sharing, an ongoing project between Madison House and the Salvation Army, will be pairing community sponsors with families in need this holiday season to bring gifts and food to the Charlottesville community.

Throughout the fall semester, student volunteers from Madison House work to collect donations from individuals and groups on Grounds and in Charlottesville. The project culminates in a distribution day in December, when all the donations are given to sponsored families.

"[Holiday Sharing] has seen increased involvement over the past few years. In 2012, the program was sponsoring about 110 families but has now increased its reach to 160, said Eric MacBlane, a third-year Engineering student and a Program Director for the Holiday Sharing program."

Read the full article HERE

Recap: Flag Football Tournament

The Virginia Men's Lacrosse Team hosted the 7th annual Will Barrow Memorial Flag Football Tournament to benefit Madison House's HELP Line program earlier this month.

WVIR NBC-29 filmed some of the action and interviewed Sruthi Poduval, a fourth year student and the Head Program Director for HELP Line. You can see more photos here.

“I just think it's really wonderful that the lacrosse team recognizes that HELP Line is such a valuable asset to the community. I think it's amazing that we're branching out like this and that we're getting more of the U.Va. community involved in Madison House," Sruthi told the reporter.

Thanks to WVIR NBC-29 for telling the community about the 7th annual Will Barrow Memorial Flag Football Tournament and Madison House's HELP Line program!

Books Beyond Bars Program Hosts Screening & Talk

Madison House's Beyond the Bars GED Tutoring program will host a screening of Bryan Stevenson’s popular TED Talk, “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” on Thursday, October 12th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in the Newcomb Kaleidoscope Room.

The video will serve as a starting point for a discussion on race, incarceration, and inequality in America. Program Directors from Beyond the Bars encourage everyone, whether you have personal experience, professional expertise, or have never thought about the subject before, to come out for this event.

Want to know more about Bryan Stevenson's TED Talk? Here is a description: 

"In an engaging and personal talk — with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks — human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness."

Beyond the Bars pairs volunteers with inmates in a GED tutoring relationship, in which they help some of society’s most marginalized by inmates pass the general education development test. Paired by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail’s quickly growing education department, volunteers and inmates work one-on-one to tackle education areas specific to the students' needs (including math, English writing and grammar, history, and science). Because of lengthy application and training processes, Beyond the Bars is a year-long commitment, and requires volunteers to submit a separate application in addition to the Madison House application. Though Beyond the Bars faces many complex problems associated with working in a secure facility, the work done in this program is astoundingly rewarding.

To RSVP to this event on Facebook, please click here.

Learning with Cavs in the Classroom

Thank you to the Charlottesville Newsplex for shining a spotlight on our Cavs in the Classroom program! 

Click here to watch the adorable video featuring a second grade class at Greer Elementary and Lauren Kohler, a first year at U.Va. and Cavs in the Classroom volunteer.

182 U.Va. students volunteer in local elementary schools every week through our Cavs in the Classroom program.

Save the date for #GivingTuesday

Let the countdown to #GivingTuesday begin! Please mark Tuesday, December 1st on your calendar right now and get ready to join alumni, parents, and friends around the world in supporting Madison House.

What is #GivingTuesday, you ask? #GivingTuesday is a national day dedicated to giving back following Thanksgiving and those other days for getting deals. 

Madison House will have a special challenge on #GivingTuesday: we need to raise $10,000 from supporters like YOU to secure a matching gift of $10,000 from a pair of donors who wish to remain anonymous. Thanks to the generosity of these anonymous donors, your donation to Madison House on #GivingTuesday will have twice the impact. 

Last year, like every year, U.Va. student leaders proudly carried on the Madison House traditions of leadership, service, and community. During the 2014-2015 academic year, 3,179 University of Virginia students volunteered 111,135 service hours at 168 community partner sites throughout the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. This year, we are working hard to increase leadership opportunities and training as well as foster new partnerships in the community and at the University. 

Save the date and help us continue to make the volunteer experience for thousands of 'Hoos even better on #GivingTuesday

Bridging the Gap Helps Refugees in Charlottesville

The Cavalier Daily included Madison House's Bridging the Gap program in its recent article about refugees in Charlottesville.

The Charlottesville branch of the  International Rescue Committee has welcomed almost 2,000 refugees since it opened in 1998. Between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015, the IRC resettled 241 refugees from 12 different countries in Charlottesville.

“[One challenge is] figuring out a way to incorporate refugees into the economy in ways that are beneficial to them and to the city,” said Bridging the Gap Program Director Katrina Boyd, a fourth-year College student. “That’s a really big challenge, finding places for everyone to fit and feel as though they have a place here and can have a purpose.”

Bridging the Gap is a youth mentoring program that focuses on refugee children in our community. About 60 University of Virginia students volunteer with Bridging the Gap every week. Youth participating in the program hail from many countries, including Burma, Congo, Iraq, Liberia, Nepal, Russia, Sierra leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, and Tongo.

 Click here to read the whole story! 

Madison House Receives Grant From UVA Parents Fund

Madison House is very grateful to the UVA Parents Fund for its generous support. Recently, the UVA Parents Fund awarded Madison House a grant of $27,730 for technology upgrades. This funding will enrich the volunteering experiences of more than 3,100 U.Va. students who volunteer with Madison House every week. We are excited to share more news about these improvements in the coming months!

HALO presents Desserts & Discussion Event

Attention University of Virginia students! Are you interested in learning more about hunger and homelessness in Charlottesville and how you can help? Madison House's HALO program invites you to an evening of desserts & discussion with staff from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, The Haven, and more in the Newcomb Hall Gallery on Wednesday, November 4th from 7:00pm until 8:00pm.

Hoos Assisting with Life Obstacles (HALO) is a Madison House program that seeks to address the issues of hunger, homelessness, unemployment, and other life obstacles in the Charlottesville community. Through seven different programs, HALO provides direct assistance to families and individuals in need of food, educational training, companionship, or child care.

RSVP to the event on Facebook here.

Virginia Men's Lacrosse Team Raises Awareness for HELP Line

On Saturday, November 14, 2015, the Virginia Men's Lacrosse Team will host the 7th annual Will Barrow Memorial Flag Football Tournament. The tournament is held each year with proceeds going to Madison House's HELP Line program.

This event remembers Will Barrow, who in his fourth year served as a captain of the 2008 University of Virginia Men's Lacrosse team that advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. He was considered one of the top defensive midfielders in the country throughout his career. He appeared in 63 games during his UVa career and scored 18 goals with seven assists. Barrow also was a member of the Cavaliers' 2006 NCAA Champion team.

Max Pomper, a teammate and friend of Will, created this event in 2009 to celebrate Will's memory and raise funds for HELP Line. Donations can be made via a GoFundMe campaign created by the players.

HELP Line is a 24-hour confidential and anonymous hotline, supervised by Madison House, for members of the University community. When you call HELP Line, you'll be connected to a trained U.Va. student who will listen to you without judgement. 

The tournament will take place at the University of Virginia's Carr's Hill Field on Saturday, November 14 from 10:00am until 5:00pm. Various lacrosse teams from around the country will gather to play in friendly competition. 

The event is FREE and open to the public. Madison House and the Virginia Men's Lacrosse team encourage the local community to come out and cheer on the players during this positive and fun event!

Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign Kicks Off

Are you a state employee? The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) will launch on Monday, October 5! CVC is a vehicle of giving for state employees, including staff at the University of Virginia and UVA Health System. Each year, state employees can give to the charities of their choice through the CVC. If you are a state employee, please consider supporting Madison House. With over 3,100 student volunteering weekly at 168 community sites, your donation will help build capacity for many of the region's non-profit organizations. Our CVC code is 3789.

The CVC is an annual opportunity for employees to give to charities that provide the services and programs you want to support. You can choose from nearly 1,200 charities, many of which serve the local community like Madison House! You may donate by cash, check, payroll deduction, credit card or stock gifts. You can give online by clicking here.

Why give through the CVC campaign? Here are just a few reasons:

  • All charities participating in the CVC have been pre-screened to ensure that they are fiscally sound and that they perform the services stated.
  • Payroll deduction allows you to budget your contribution throughout the year through regular automated giving.
  • 100% of your designated contribution goes to the charity or charities stated. No administrative fees are taken by the CVC on designated contributions through workplace giving.
  • Employee contributions to the CVC are entirely voluntary and all CVC activities are grounded on the principle of voluntary giving. 

To learn more about participating in the CVC as an employee at the University of Virginia or UVA Health System, visit www.virginia.edu/cvc.

Cavs in the Classroom Goes Back to School

Notebooks, yellow buses, and sharpened pencils. Those are the telltale signs that thousands of local children are back in school across Charlottesville and Albemarle — and they will have extra help from University of Virginia students thanks to Madison House.

This school year, Madison House, an organization that serves as the volunteer center for U.Va. students, has placed 182 U.Va. students in 15 local elementary schools through its Cavs in the Classroom program. Cavs in the Classroom volunteers assist preschool through sixth grade students with reading, math, spelling lessons, SOL prep, and art projects.

Summerlyn Thompson, Assistant Principal at Johnson Elementary School, says "We are so excited to welcome back our Cavs in the Classroom volunteers this semester. Our students absolutely love the opportunity to work with them, our teachers enjoy having enthusiastic volunteers assisting with our children, and, as a former Cav in the Classroom myself, I daresay that the volunteers get just as much out of it as anyone!”

Cavs in the Classroom has volunteers serving in the classrooms of 115 local teachers, but the numbers tell only part of the story.

Allie Rhea, a fourth year at the University who is the Head Program Director for Cavs in the Classroom, says, "I would not say the success of our program can adequately be measured by the number of children who can do long division or read a chapter book because of Cavs in the Classroom volunteers. Rather, the true power of the program stems from volunteers who create relationships with younger students and act as role models.”

Cavs in the Classroom volunteers learn as much from their service as the local children they are helping.

"I chose to get involved with Cavs in the Classroom because I knew that I wanted to study secondary education but still enjoyed working with the energetic elementary kids," says Sean McClure, a fourth year in both the U.Va. College of Arts and Science and the Curry School of Education. "After being with the program for just over three years now, what I have enjoyed most is forming a relationship with a teacher year after year. This is my fifth semester working with the same teacher and each semester is better."

Meanwhile, the popularity of the Cavs in the Classroom program among U.Va. students continues to grow. Rhea explains, "I have been a part of Cavs in the Classroom since my first weeks at U.Va. This program is consistently one of the biggest at Madison House and I think that speaks to the simplicity, as well as the significance, of our mission."

Rhea also remarked that the Cavs in the Classroom saw a spike in the number of new teachers requesting volunteers this year, thanks to an new online application process. "We are excited to expand our teacher network so we can reach as many students as possible," says Rhea.

Local news station WVIR NBC-29 shot a video segment about Madison House's Cavs in the Classroom program at a local elementary school recently, too. They interviewed Kajal Patel, a fourth year at the University and a Program Director for Cavs in the Classroom. "It's a great break. I feel like I'm a kid again when I'm here with [the kids]," she said. To watch the full video, click HERE.

The Cavalier Daily also wrote an article about Cavs in the Classroom. You can read it HERE