Listen to the UVA Today Radio Show report on this story by Samantha Koon:



March 17, 2011 — Members of the University of Virginia community are invited to participate in a Day of Service on April 16, as part of inauguration week activities for U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan.

"Cavaliers Care: A Day of Service" will include students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and community members participating in a variety of service projects at community agencies and sites in the Charlottesville and Albemarle County region, as well as projects around U.Va.'s College at Wise.

The Day of Service will coincide with the annual "Cavaliers Care" worldwide service initiative sponsored by UVaClubs, in which U.Va. alumni and parents engage in service efforts in cities around the world.

“It is exciting that President Sullivan has so wholeheartedly embraced service as a significant component of her inauguration week,” said Angela Davis, special assistant to the vice president and chief student affairs officer. “We have a goal of involving approximately 1,000 volunteers locally, nationally and worldwide.”

Since 2004, Cavaliers Care has been coordinated locally through Madison House, the student volunteer center at U.Va. This year, Madison House volunteers will work at about 60 venues, including Clark Elementary School, Mary Williams Community Center, PACEM, Ronald McDonald House and the Virginia Discovery Museum.

"This year will be bigger and better," said Elizabeth Bass, executive director of Madison House. "We are working with community organizations to be good partners and neighbors."

The projects, requiring anywhere from five to 45 volunteers, will include painting, stuffing envelopes, landscaping and repairing facilities.

"No project is too big or too small," Bass said. "This gives the community organizations a chance to ask for help on projects so that their staffs are free to concentrate on their mission."

In addition to the Madison House projects, projects are also being organized by U.Va.'s Office of Community Relations at Jackson-Via Elementary School in Charlottesville and Greer Elementary School in Albemarle County. In addition, a food drive benefiting the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank will be going on during the day. Donations can be dropped off at the Student Activities Building on Alderman Road during the day's kick-off breakfast or at Jackson-Via Elementary School.

The Food Bank particularly needs donations of cereal, peanut butter, canned soups and stews, canned fruits, canned meats, 100 percent fruit juice, boxed macaroni and cheese, spaghetti sauce, pasta, rice, paper products and personal care items.

At Jackson-Via Elementary, between 30 and 35 volunteers are needed to enhance a woodland and wildlife habitat trail, including clearing and mulching a path, constructing raised vegetable beds and building picnic tables or benches.

At Greer Elementary, 25 to 50 volunteers are needed to create a woodland trail and outdoor-learning center behind the school. The project includes clearing and raking a path, laying mulch, constructing an amphitheater-style area and creating plaques.

An additional 25 to 36 volunteers are needed at both the Greer and Jackson-Via sites to assemble picnic tables and benches following a template using precut wood. The work will move indoors in case of rain.

The day will begin with a kick-off breakfast on Grounds at the Student Activities Building on Alderman Road, across the parking lot from Scott Stadium. Lunch will be served for  volunteers in the field next to the Observatory Hill Dining Hall. Volunteers will receive T-shirts, courtesy of Madison House, U.Va. Community Relations and the University's Office of Engagement.