Community Service - Virginia Club of New York

The Community Service Committee, in partnership with the Madison House Alumni Council, strives to provide UVA alums with diverse volunteer opportunities throughout the year. This committee partners with various local organizations for monthly volunteer outings. The committee also has a long-standing partnership with a soup kitchen in the East Village and volunteers regularly on the second Saturday of each month. If you are interested in joining, please email uvanyc@uvanyc.org!

Some of our past projects include:

Heart of Dinner

For Lunar New Year, volunteers gathered to write messages and cards accompanying food boxes delivered to seniors in the East Asian community.

New York Marathon

The Virginia Club organizes an annual group of volunteers at the marathon, cheering on runners and distributing water at Mile 22.

City Harvest

Volunteers distributed thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables offered free of charge to 500 families who qualify and live in the area.

Korean K9 Rescue

Volunteers assisted with the organization’s weekly adoption event and helped rescue dogs find their forever homes.

Hope Lodge

Volunteers cooked and served brunch for the families of cancer patients living at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge.

Story Pirates – Drama Book Shop
The Virginia Club of New York teamed up with Story Pirates, a nationally respected education and media organization founded to celebrate the words and ideas of young people. Volunteers participated in the Idea Storm Program, a master-class writing workshop that brings teaching concepts to life, followed by a musical sketch comedy show featuring stories by students and performed by professional artists/comedians.

Our standing activities include:

University Soup Kitchen

The mission of the Soup Kitchen is to serve a wholesome, freshly made meal every Saturday – one that the volunteer team is happy to eat themselves – in a respectful atmosphere to anyone who comes through our doors, no questions asked. The Virginia Club sends volunteers to help at the Soup Kitchen on the second Saturday of every month. There are two shifts: 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The meal is prepared during the first shift and served in a restaurant-style or to-go environment during the second shift.

The Soup Kitchen is a rewarding way to spend a Saturday and we encourage all alumni to visit the Soup Kitchen at least once while living in NYC. You must be at least 18 years of age to attend. To join the club on a Saturday, please email RSVP to Mark Weber at uvasoupkitchen@gmail.com. Please be sure to include your phone number in case we need to reach you!