COVID-19, Community Partners, History, UVa Students, Volunteer Stories
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
UVa Students, COVID-19
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
UVa Students, COVID-19
Madison House
Hoos Helping (Virtually!)

On March 11, 2020, all Madison House in-person volunteering was suspended in an effort to slow the emergence of COVID-19. Shortly after, a Spring Action Team headed by Madison House student volunteers Simmy Bhatia, Caroline Hallowell, and Mikaela Rirchardson worked in coordination with Dr. Rose Cole, the Madison House Director of Community Engagement, to begin developing a virtual volunteering initiative called "Hoos Helping."

Hoos Helping (Virtually!)

UVa Students

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CIOs overcome distance learning limitations to maintain a sense of community

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CIOs overcome distance learning limitations to maintain a sense of community

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.”

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UVA medical students create 'Quarantine Trivia'

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UVA medical students create 'Quarantine Trivia'

"We have players all over Virginia, all over the East Coast, in New York and Boston," he said. "We have people out on the West Coast, in Oregon and California and one player from England, so it has really kind of become a big thing."

Not only is the game bringing together family and friends but it also benefiting Charlottesville-area charities like Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, Madison House and the Legal Aid Justice Center.

"There's so many great organizations already established in Charlottesville, we thought we could help them along and all those donations would go to a big cause," said White.

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Top 10 ways to stay social — and distant — this fall semester

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Top 10 ways to stay social — and distant — this fall semester

Volunteering is a great way to keep in touch with the U.Va. and Charlottesville communities and is especially needed during the pandemic. Organizations like Madison House and United Way of Greater Charlottesville provide great online resources for how to volunteer and help the community — plus they offer virtual programs to volunteer remotely.