Holiday Sharing (HOLS) is one of Madison House’s oldest student-led programs and has long provided Charlottesville families with food and personalized gifts for the holidays. This program does most of their work leading up to the holiday season, and, during this time, students work with the Salvation Army and Madison House’s LAMA (Latinx and Migrant Aid) program to collect, assemble, and distribute gifts. 

This year, the program was led by 4th year UVA student Anna Wallace. “For me, the Holiday Sharing program is a way to escape the University bubble and connect with the Charlottesville community during my favorite time of the year,” says Anna.

Each year, Holiday Sharing volunteers do all of the necessary fundraising and work to collect and coordinate the gifts bought for families. “We send out emails to professors, local community sponsors… to ask for donations,” says Anna, “which we then use to shop for all the families.” Additionally, this was the first year that the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy was a partner, giving food bags and grocery store gift cards to every single family. 

For each family that receives gifts, adults receive a $50 gift card, but children are given a much more personalized experience. When registering, parents provide a list of the wants and needs of their children. Volunteers then use this list to shop for each individual child. “The parents get excited too,” says Anna, “because their kids don't notice us sneaking out to put three boxes and a bike in the trunk of their car.”

To cap off the effort, volunteers with the HOLS program host an annual distribution day in early December. This year, on December 4th, families came to the House one-by-one, and in a spaced-out manner, from 9:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., picked up their gifts. In total, 120 local Charlottesville/Albemarle families were served, totaling to 466 people. Another successful year for one of the House’s oldest programs!

If you would like to receive emails for the 2022 Holiday Sharing campaign, complete the linked Google Form here.

Author: Brady Holbrook; bgh7wen@virginia.edu

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