With seven programs under her Madison House umbrella, third-year UVA student Dao Tran manages 65 volunteers and oversaw 500 hours combined of service in the Fall 2023 semester. Dao is Head Program Director of After School Programming, as well as a co-Program Director for the Music Resource Center. 

“The after school programs include various tutoring and mentorship programs hosted by local Charlottesville organizations, such as church ministries and non-profits,” explains Dao. Madison House After School Programs have a myriad of partners: City of Promise, Computers4Kids, Abundant Life Ministries, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge, and Zion Union Baptist Church. Each program has its own focus. For example, while City of Promise coaches local youth on behavioral and academic needs, Abundant Life Ministries focuses more specifically on spiritual development, academic support, and economic empowerment. 

A Madison House volunteer session typically lasts one hour, though how the time is spent varies from program to program. “Programs like Abundant Life & Zion Union are centered on one-to-one mentoring, so volunteers spend their session working with one specific student, either tutoring them in a subject or just hanging out and getting to know them,” says Dao. “On the other hand, programs like GEMs are presentation-centered, so GEMS volunteers go into the elementary schools to teach a STEM presentation and do a STEM activity with the kids on Fridays. Last semester, they helped the kids make "brain hats" that mapped out the different areas of the brain!”

Abigail Shepherd is a third-year student volunteering with Abundant Life tutoring. “One of their core values is listening to the community, and this is something they do very well.” In fact, she says, “Abundant Life has a house in the middle of the Prospect Avenue neighborhood, which allows the community to feel both physically and emotionally close to the program.” They address specific requests from local residents, from offering financial literacy classes to setting up a bus to accommodate students’ transportation needs. Abigail loves forming connections with the young students, saying, “When they started recognizing me and being excited to see work with me and argued over who got to hold my hand, I knew I had made a great connection with the students.”

Fourth-year student Madeleine Ames similarly values forming connections with the students at GEMS, where she volunteers every Friday. “My favorite memory is teaching the girls about DNA and making candy DNA models with them. They were so excited to make their own DNA and match the ‘base pairs’ (gummy bears) together. They also loved eating their models when they were finished!” she reflects. Madeleine is a Neuroscience major at UVA and is inspiring young girls to get just as excited about science as she is. “My hope for this program is that it instills a love and curiosity for science in young girls and inspires them to pursue careers in science in the future,” Madeleine shares.

Not only are the young students inspired for their futures, but the volunteers are also able to apply the values and skills they learned to their majors or professions down the line. As a Foreign Affairs major, Dao believes that her professional aspirations and role at Madison House relate to public service. “I am involved because I've always believed in the value of investing in my community, no matter the scale. Volunteering with Madison House has made me feel more connected to Charlottesville, outside of just UVA,” says Dao. She summarizes, “I think there are always transferable skills that volunteering gives you which are applicable to any field related to leadership, organization, and management.”