U.Va.'s Madison House to Receive Honor as "Daily Point of Light" on Jan. 27

January 26, 2000 -- The Points of Light Foundation has chosen the Madison House Migrant Aid Program as the "Daily Point of Light" for January 27.

Established in 1990, the Points of Light Foundation awards a Daily Point of Light to an individual, organization or business that makes significant contributions toward solving serious social problems.

Madison House, the student volunteer center at the University of Virginia, will receive a certificate and letter from Robert Goodwin, president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation, as well as congratulatory letters from President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush. The information will also be featured on the foundation¹s web site, www.PointsofLight.org.

Established in 1973 by U.Va. students who wanted to help migrant workers who come to Central Virginia to work, the Madison House Migrant Aid Program provides tutoring to adults and homework assistance to children. The U.Va. student volunteers travel four days a week to migrant camps and homes in rural areas outside of Charlottesville.

Using an "English as a Second Language" manual designed by the Albemarle County School Migrant Education staff, the volunteers teach adult workers who often speak only limited English how to express themselves more effectively.

U.Va. student leaders, who work in partnership with the Albemarle County School Migrant Education Program, are responsible for recruiting and training volunteers, handling all logistics and assessing community needs. Last year four student leaders coordinated the efforts of 112 U.Va. students who volunteered more than 3,600 hours of service in the Migrant Aid Program.

This is the third time that the Migrant Aid Program has received national attention. In 1988 and 1993 the collaborative effort between Albemarle County Schools and Madison House was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an outstanding program.

This is the second time that Madison House has been recognized as a Point of Light. In 1990 President Bush honored Madison House as one of the initial Points of Light.

An independent, non-profit organization, Madison House has 16 diverse programs that provide services to the area. Each year approximately 3,000 U.Va. students volunteer at more than 85 community sites.

"Madison House is an unbelievable asset to the community," said Sharon Root, coordinator of Albemarle County Schools¹ Migrant Education Program.

For more information, contact Cindy Fredrick, president and executive director of Madison House, at (804) 977-7051. (A full description of Madison House services can be found at www.virginia.edu/~madison.)

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: please contact the Office of University Relations at (804) 924-7116. Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.
SOURCE: U.Va. News Services

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