HISTORY OF VIRGINIA HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
Founded as the Richmond Male Orphan Society in 1846, Virginia Home for Boys and Girls now operates as a comprehensive, nonprofit child and family services organization and is no longer an orphanage.
It is said that on the day after Thanksgiving in 1845 a young homeless boy came begging for food at the doorstep of an asylum run by the Female Humane Association, one of Richmond’s few orphanages. Frustrated that the asylum only served homeless girls, the director encouraged her husband and other men in the community to consider establishing and orphan society for destitute boys. By May of 1846, the first board meeting for the Richmond Male Orphan Society took place, followed thereafter by a charter from the Virginia General Assembly making them officially open for business.
Our timeline includes:
1846
Richmond Male Orphan Society chartered by the General Assembly of Virginia.
1930
Name changed to Richmond Home for Boys.
1957
Home moved to its present location in Henrico County.
1969
Gymnasium constructed.
1974
John G. Wood School alternative school opened.
1975
Name changed to the Virginia Home for Boys.
1978
Youth Emergency Shelter opened to serve boys and girls needing crisis care.
1981
First day student from Henrico County’s Department of Social Services arrived at JGW.
1983
New shelter building constructed at present location on Pump Road.
1995
JGW took the lead in forming the Richmond Alternative School Sports League (RASSL)which continues to thrive today.
1997
Four girls began attending JGW.
1998
Teaching-Family Model of care adopted as our residential program model.
2001
First of six Teaching Family Homes built specifically to TFM standards.
2003
Girls were admitted to the residential program.
2004
Name changed to the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls.
2007
New JGW building was constructed.
2011
JGW expanded to include Wood II, self-contained classrooms with a 1-5 teacher-student ratio.
2013
Enrollment of the first kindergarten through fifth-grade students began the elementary program.
And, a Therapeutic Resource Center is added.
2018
Independent Living Arrangement program opened in four townhouses on campus to serve youth aging out of the foster care system ages 17-21.
2020
Pride Place at VHBG program opened in two houses on campus to serve LGBTQ+ young adults ages 18-25.