Boys Home of Virginia | Mission Finder

Boys Home of Virginia has been building successful men since 1906. It’s been many decades since Boys Home was founded, but many of the reasons why it was founded remain. Boys Home provides care for young men in a healthy, supportive environment. We offer them a life-changing experience with caring adult supervision meant to increase their sense of personal responsibility. It’s a fresh chance for a young man to mold his character in positive, meaningful ways.

We show them how to respect themselves and others and uncover their spiritual sides. We give them the education they need and lead them to become well-rounded men. We’re not an orphanage, or just a school. We provide food, clothing, shelter and guidance, almost entirely privately financed by individuals and churches.

Our entire environment is focused on this mission. Our 1400-acre campus has a school where boys can catch up academically. We have a vocational/technical center to help them develop work skills. Our chapel supports them spiritually, and recreational facilities build them physically and socially. Our location in the beautiful Alleghany Highlands allows them to learn more about themselves as they explore and enjoy the hills, swimming holes, and woodlands. Each of these experiences gives a boy a better chance to become a successful man.

For over 100 years, Boys Home of Virginia has been blessed to have leaders with vision, contributors with heart, staff with energy and commitment, and trustees with a sense of purpose. The generosity and work of those people have resulted in generations of fine, accomplished alumni, many of whom have given back to Boys Home more than they received.

Our History

At the turn of the last century, southwest Virginia was a remote, rugged and poor place. The Rev. George Floyd Rogers was serving as the rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in tiny Covington at the time. Reverend Rogers saw a need for education and religion in this rural area, and in 1906, he began conducting roadside church services. Later, he started a school and Sunday school in an old log cabin.

He left the Emmanuel parish in 1911 to serve a parish in Lynchburg, but by that time, a schoolhouse and chapel had been built, and he named the humble institution “The Industrial School and Farm for Mountain Children and Home for Homeless Boys.” C.C. Thurber became the superintendent, with Rev. Rogers still active as the president of the Board of Trustees, and 40 youngsters called this home by 1916.

Donnie E. Wheatley took over as director in 1985 and continues in that role. He has a special commitment to the continuing success of Boys Home because he grew up as a student here, and that experience made a lasting impression. Donnie continues to build on the work of earlier leaders, and today, Boys Home is as secure as the mountains it’s nestled in. But continuing social, economic and technological change means that this institution is as important as ever. And we’ll continue to face the challenges faced by boys at risk, and meet their needs on their journey to becoming successful men.

Our Mission

A successful man has to start somewhere…

All successful men were once boys. But not all boys become successful men. Sometimes, they’re missing positive role models or a supportive quality of life. So we provide both—and successful men are the result. Men who will take care of their families. Men who will contribute their gifts. Men who will be role models for the next generation of men.

At Boys Home of Virginia, we show our boys that each day is a step toward that success. Our mission is to help each student strive toward becoming a productive member of society, by developing his potential – spiritually, mentally, physically and socially.

Our History

Our Mission

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