The strong community that exists among the University’s students would be nothing without the support of the broader Charlottesville community. For that reason, Madison House directors and student volunteers have remained dedicated to serving the people of Charlottesville and supporting them through the most difficult times of the pandemic. Although Madison House’s volunteer services will function very differently than in previous years, many efforts will continue virtually in order to strengthen the Charlottesville community.

“Our programs will focus almost exclusively on virtual volunteering,” said Rose Cole, Madison House director of community engagement, in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “There will be some exceptions made for in-person volunteering based on community needs — focused only on medical services, food insecurity and food justice and support for essential workers — but we can’t begin in-person volunteering until we know how safe it will be.”

While certain programs such as Adopt-A-Grandparent are able to continue operating through a pen pal or video conferencing socially distant format, other programs like child care and medical services may only continue with strict testing and regulation by the community partner. However, even that is limited until the pandemic is under control and in-person contact is safe. Despite these setbacks, Madison House staff and student leaders have been working hard to continue providing the services that the Charlottesville community needs during these trying times.

Read the rest of this Cavalier Daily story here.