First Year Council for the UVA Class of 2028

Food Assist is a group of University of Virginia students who are committed to fighting both food waste and hunger in the Charlottesville community. We recover food that would otherwise go to waste and donate it to those in need. FoodAssist is a chapter of the Food Recovery Network, which is the largest national organization working to fight food insecurity.

We, as representatives for the Class of 2025, are dedicated to fostering inclusion, ensuring accessibility, and promoting community during our Fourth Year and beyond.

Under the guidance of the Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR), this organization aims to influence city government decisions to better reflect the needs of public housing residents. To meet this purpose, students will a) design and display public presentations, b) participate in trainings on local programs and policies, c) support both in-person and social media-based outreach to low-income communities, and d) write grants and other funding proposals. We will expand upon our most recent project looking into the allocation of federal funds intended for low-income communities in Charlottesville, continuing to build the relationship between PHAR and the university.We plan to meet with a PHAR Board member on a biweekly basis, and set up a Slack channel to keep a line of communication open between student and community CIO participants. We also hope to have one of our students in attendance at PHAR staff and board meetings to stay up-to-date on their current initiatives and evaluate where we can assist on projects.

Girls Who Lift at UVA is an organization where female-identifying students of varying fitness levels can learn, grow, and challenge themselves, finding support within an inclusive and uplifting community. We hold group workout sessions and dinners every day of the week at the AFC to accommodate everyone's availability and schedules. Our meetings are very casual and flexible- By no means do you have to attend all the sessions/dinners or do the workouts of the other group members. You don't even have to lift! Our sessions are a chance to carve out time for whatever you need that day- lift, stretch for a few minutes, grab dinner, chat with friends, or anything else that is restorative to you. Girls Who Lift seeks to promote accountability and motivate students to build healthy habits for their well-being, which can always be a struggle when dealing with the busyness of college life. If you've found the gym daunting or scary, have trouble keeping a consistent workout schedule, or want to meet some new people, Girls Who Lift is the club for you. The easiest way to join is through GroupMe on our Instagram page, girlswholift_uva. Additionally, because we are an extremely new organization, we welcome all comments, concerns, and suggestions on how we can better this group and do a better job at accomplishing our mission. We hope to see you at our next workout session or dinner!

Girl Up's mission statement is to empower individuals on UVa's campus to become involved through education, advocacy, public service, and fundraising to allow adolescent girls around the world to reach their full potential. As a campaign of the UN Foundation, fundraising will support Girl Up and UN Foundation programs that directly contribute to the advancement of girls' rights, health, and education in developing countries. All activities of this club support the five core pillars of Girl Up: education, health, freedom from violence, leadership, and count (formally recognized by government).

Global Brigades is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing inequalities in healthcare through a holistic approach. There are three main facets: healthcare, sanitation, and business. Global Brigades at UVA primarily focuses on the healthcare care aspect, organizing and planning various clinics in the GB Partner Countries (Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Panama, Ghana, Greece) as well as fundraising to both help run the clinic and to allow members to volunteer at the clinics.

GMMA at UVA was established with the purpose of empowering the next generation of healthcare professionals to advance into the medical mission field through mentoring, training, supporting, and providing mission opportunities. Our members meet bi-weekly to take part in fellowship and local outreach, spend time in prayer, or tune into special topics from speakers near and far. Each year, we open up applications for our Honduras mission trip. After spending months preparing and building unity for this mission trip, our missions team spends a week in Honduras focusing on four aspects: Evangelism, Children’s Ministry, Clinic, and Public Health. Our organization is open to all majors for we know that regardless of skills -- whether in medicine, music, art, finance, etc., -- we all have distinct and unique talents that can be used to share God’s love and to glorify his Kingdom!https://youtu.be/clMI2qpmo7M?si=0bAS-pMgQhMF-vNm?

Global Medical Training is an international humanitarian organization, providing free medical services to underprivileged communities in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Global Medical Training club at The University of Virginia will co-ordinate trips, fundraise, teach about tropical diseases and prepare students and members of the UVA community for the travel and work at GMT sites. GMT@UVA will also provide opportunities for volunteering and involvement on Grounds.   "Although this organization has members who are University of Virginia students and may have University employees associated or engaged in its activities and affairs, the organization is not a part of or an agency of the University. It is a separate and independent organization which is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise or control the organization and is not responsible for the organization's  contracts, acts, or omissions."

We strive to address prevalent global issues at a local level through education, service, and advocacy. We hope through every act working in Charlottesville, we can show empathy to better understand issues from a global perspective. Recently we have worked on issues such as sustainability, period poverty, and food insecurity within both the UVA community and the community of Charlottesville.