“[When Covid-19 hit,] we all felt the desire to do something but had nowhere to go with it,” said rising fourth year Caroline Howell of the pandemic that sent all of Madison Houses’ student volunteers home prematurely last semester.
Caroline has been involved with Madison House since her first year, originally learning about the House as a high school student and junior volunteer working at the UVA Hospital. When she arrived at the University, she knew Madison House would provide the smoothest transition for her to continue doing what she loves at a higher level, so she began volunteering through the Madison House Medical Services program, eventually becoming a Program Director.
Caroline had since gone on to serve as the Head Program Director for Summer Programs. She had been preparing to hit the ground running in May 2020 when the pandemic caused an immediate halt of all in-person volunteering in March.
With operations at a standstill, Caroline reached out to Dr. Rose Cole, the Director of Community Engagement at Madison House, asking if there was anything she could do for the community and numerous student volunteers itching to help. When Dr. Cole offered Caroline a spot on an emergency response action team, Caroline jumped at the opportunity and knew fellow volunteer Mikaela Richardson would be a perfect addition to the team.
Mikaela was a rising third year, who, like Caroline, frequently volunteered at hospitals throughout high school and joined Medical Services upon arriving at UVA. Mikaela was supposed to be a Program Director for Summer Programs that year but was excited to join Caroline and Dr. Cole as they embarked into the uncharted waters of virtual volunteering.
The team branded themselves at Hoos Helping and went straight to work. Caroline and Mikaela knew that the best way they could help during the pandemic was through virtual volunteering. Through a survey, they reached out to Madison House volunteers to get a preliminary headcount of how many students would be willing/able to invest time into that transition. The response was far greater than expected, with 700+ students responding within 48 hours.
The Hoos Helping team then worked to solidify next steps. “The biggest challenge was figuring out the best way to support the community,” said Mikaela. “It was difficult trying to find how to help because there was so much going on at once, and we didn’t want to overwhelm the community by saying, ‘Hey! We have a whole bunch of students that can help. How can we help?’”
As Covid-19 rocked the Charlottesville community, Hoos Helping joined forces with the Thomas Jefferson Health District and spent roughly 50 hours manning phones and reaching out to faith based organizations, salons, and other community establishments to distribute Covid-19 guidelines and best practices. They partnered with the Memorial for Enslaved Laborers project group to create and distribute learning kits for children who would later embark on virtual and in-person field trips at the memorial.
Caroline and Mikaela were most excited about the work they did with the Westhaven Housing Community to match two student volunteers per child for virtual tutoring. “The impact of having somebody who’s not your parent spend thirty minutes with you and actively care about you is really beneficial to kids,” said Caroline.
The Hoos Helping team now has roughly 1,000 volunteers and plans on staying active as the future hub for virtual volunteering. The team will continue to work alongside the community partners they’ve developed while also serving as a support system for the 20+ Madison House programs adapting to an online environment.
With that said, the team continues to look ahead and wants to ensure that virtual volunteering will continue in some capacity even when the House is able to return to business as usual. “There are some people with accessibility issues where trying to get to a site is difficult,” said Mikaela. “Seeing that Madison House could potentially help those people get connected and volunteer [virtually] would be amazing.”
The initiative by these two young women demonstrates how Madison House volunteers make a critical impact in the Charlottesville community. It is the passion and leadership of students like Caroline and Mikaela that your support enables us to direct and nurture.