Student Council heard from two Madison House Student Board Members during Tuesday’s general body meeting who provided an update on what this student volunteer organization has accomplished with Student Council’s annual $50,000 donation. The Council also announced an upcoming visit from former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and informed the student body of a special Board of Visitors meeting happening Feb. 21 to discuss gender affirming care.
Madison House is a University volunteer center that works to connect students with the local Charlottesville community through volunteer opportunities such as programs with the Charlottesville Pediatrics Associates and YMCA After School Volunteering. According to Neha Pai, student board member and fourth-year College student, Madison House has 1,607 student volunteers with the volunteer work of the organization having an annual economic value of about $1.6 million.
Rohan Kanchetty, Madison House student board member and fourth-year College student, stated that the organization is able to make a large impact in the community due to donations from various organizations, including Student Council’s annual $50,000 donation.
“[With $50,000 in] one year, we run a hotline which answers over 2,800 crisis calls, we’re able to do background checks for Education Services volunteers [and allow] about … 55 Creating Assets Savings and Hope student tax preparers to serve during tax season, [we paid] for seven Graduate Student Track Advisors, we’re really making use of this money,” Kanchetty said.
After Madison House board members reported students having difficulty navigating the website at a Student Council meeting last year, Pai stated the website has seen some recent improvements. These include the separation of the four distinct categories of Madison House services — Health and Medical Services, Animal and Environmental Services, Human Services and Education and Youth Services — but according to Pai, there is still work to be done to ensure user friendliness for prospective volunteers.
Pai also said that Madison House has seen a lot of growth in the past few years, especially in regards to the number of students interested in spring semester applications. She noted that Madison House only accepts a small number of volunteer applicants in the spring semester compared to the fall semester because the organization aims to have volunteers committed for an entire school year.
“We want people to be committed for the whole year,” Pai said. “It builds a sense of responsibility and communication — those character attributes we want in our volunteers.”
At the meeting, second-year College Rep., Brian Ng also provided an update regarding U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who will be speaking at the University Feb. 25. Spanberger is a former U.S. Representative who announced Nov. 2023 that she will be running for the next Governor of Virginia.
The University Democrats, an on-Grounds political student organization that works to elect progressive candidates, is hosting Spanberger in Ern Commons for a presentation followed by a question and answer session. Ng urged the general body to sign-up to attend the event, saying Spanberger could have a large impact on the University if elected governor.
“I’m planning on going [and] I recommend you guys do so as well,” Ng said. “If she should become governor, she [will] have the direct ability to appoint and remove any member of the Board of Visitors.”
Additionally, Valentina Mendoza Gonzalez, Student Council president and fourth-year College student, highlighted the unprecedented Board meeting taking place Friday which is not part of the Board’s regularly scheduled meetings. The Board will be meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to discuss gender affirming care as federal courts continue to debate the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order which threatens to cut federal funding to public institutions that provide GAC for patients below the age of 18.
Due to a federal judge’s temporary injunction against Trump’s executive order, U.Va. Health has resumed GAC after announcing Jan. 31 they would be suspending the care. The majority of the Board meeting Friday will take place in closed session, meaning there will be no public access which only occurs when the Board has specific legally authorized issues to address. Members will discuss the implications of this executive order and its direct impact on the University.
According to second-year College representative, Ian Travis, Student Council will be officially touring the new buses coming to Grounds Friday. University Transit Service is introducing the e-Jest to Grounds — a 22-passenger electric minibus designed for narrow roads. In a former conversation with The Cavalier Daily, Travis said these buses will operate in smaller areas surrounding The Corner, where a big bus would not fill to capacity or fit down the small side streets.
Student Council will reconvene for a regularly scheduled general body meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
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