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!)

Volunteer Stories

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PASSOVER RITUAL TAKES ON DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS IN THIS UNIQUE RELIGIOUS STUDIES COURSE

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PASSOVER RITUAL TAKES ON DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS IN THIS UNIQUE RELIGIOUS STUDIES COURSE

“The students began to think incredibly creatively,” Ochs said. “They anticipated how technology would be used to sustain individuals and communities; they designed texts that could be used for virtual rituals.”

Prior to the pandemic, the students – many working in conjunction with Madison House – had been able to give back to the Charlottesville community in a number of ways, including mentoring young people with autism, volunteering at the Salvation Army and Goodwill, adopting a grandparent, teaching children to read and helping people with taxes.

From there, the students created their own Haggadahs, using the traditional text as their inspiration.

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IT ALL STARTED WITH A LEMONADE STAND FOR THIS STUDENT NOW INTENT ON HELPING OTHERS

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IT ALL STARTED WITH A LEMONADE STAND FOR THIS STUDENT NOW INTENT ON HELPING OTHERS

During the rest of her time at UVA, Hoerr hopes to integrate Backpack Buddies into the UVA community, potentially through a collaboration with Madison House.

“We’re so proud of what Lucia has accomplished,” Carter Hoerr said. “Over the past 10 years she has shown both determination and real empathy for the needy kids in our area – two pretty remarkable traits for a kid her age.”

Hoerr wants Backpack Buddies to live on after she graduates.

“My goal is to have a succession plan in place so that Backpack Buddies can continue to run in Charlottesville even without me here watching over it,” she said. “I also hope that wherever I end up I will be able to set up a new branch of Backpack Buddies and continue to expand my nonprofit far and wide.”

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The evolution of tattoos and piercings in the workplace

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The evolution of tattoos and piercings in the workplace

Volunteering with children made me consider the stigma surrounding body accessories and tattoos

I was never forced to confront my impulsive decision head-on until last semester when I signed up to volunteer in an elementary school classroom through Madison House. Insecurities suddenly flooded my mind. What would the teachers think of me? Would they see me as unprofessional? And most dauntingly, what would the children — in all of their reckless and unconstrained honesty — say about me?

Or would they even say anything at all? I knew my father’s world is completely different from my own, so I wondered if students and younger teachers in today’s school system would even have an opinion. I know from my own upbringing that millennials and members of Generations Z and Alpha have been raised on messages of self-expression and acceptance, so the youth of today must be far more used to seeing tattoos and piercings on a day-to-day basis.