Who We Are
Interested in learning more about St. Joseph's Villa, its history and programs? Play the film below to get a better idea of who we are and what we are all about.
You also may want to click HERE to download a copy of the book published in 1931 by the Daughters of Charity to celebrate the opening of the St. Joseph's Villa campus. (Note: The file is 4.2 MB large.)
Hungry for even more? Check out the new "St. Joseph's Villa" coffee-table book written by George Bruner and published by Dementi Milestone Publishing in November, 2009, in conjunction with the Villa's celebration of its 175th Anniversary. Click HERE to learn more.
Major Events from the History of St. Joseph's Villa
1834 - The Daughters of Charity establish an orphanage and girls' school in downtown Richmond.
1861-1865 - Daughters of Confederate officers find safe shelter at St. Joseph's during the Civil War.
1868 - Agency is incorporated as St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum and Academy.
1886 - Dr. Daniel H. Gregg of Aylett leaves his residuary estate to St. Joseph's.
1898 - St. Joseph's purchases 246-acre Hollybrook farm in Henrico County for $12,000.
1922 - Major James H. Dooley dies, leaving a $3 million bequest to St. Joseph's.
1931 - The current campus opens and the agency is renamed St. Joseph's Villa. It is the first cottage-plan orphanage in the East.
1970 - Dooley School opens. Today, it provides alternative and special education services for children in grades K-12.
1977 - The Daughters of Charity withdraw and the focus changes to a multi-service agency.
1979 - The Respite Care Center is established. It is the first 12-month center-based respite program and the first after-school program in Central Virginia for children with developmental disabilities.
1982 - The Villa's Child Development Center, later renamed as the Janet Patton Lewis Child Development Center and then the Lewis Children's Center, is established.
1984 - Hollybrook Apartments opens. It is the first special housing system in Virginia exclusively designed for adults with physical disabilities.
1986 - Camp RAMA, the area's first summer day camp for children with developmental disabilities, is established. It is named for the Richmond Academy of Medicine Alliance, its primary benefactor.
1989 - Flagler Home, Virginia's first comprehensive transitional housing program for homeless women and children, is started.
1993 - The Child & Family Emergency Shelter is established to provide short-term care for children in crisis.
1994 - A community-based program for homeless families with children, now known as Flagler Family Community Support Services, is established.
1995 - Kids Kamp, a summer day camp for at-risk children, is started.
1999 - The Villa, one of the oldest continuously operating children's organizations in the United States, celebrates its 165th anniversary of serving children and families in Central Virginia.
2000 - The Villa launches Brook Road Academy, a coed, private school for students in grades 6-12 who are not realizing their full academic potential in the traditional educational setting.
2001 - The Janet Patton Lewis Child Development Center opens "Janet's Place," a new 5,600 square foot expansion, located behind the Villa's gymnasium. The new space is home to the Center's after school and summer programs.
2004 - The Villa launches a new after-school service, Therapeutic Day Treatment, to address behavioral issues in children with a mental health diagnosis.
2006 - Ramon Pardue, who had served the Villa for 29 years, retires as Chief Executive Officer. He is replaced by Kathleen Burke Barrett, most recently CEO of the American Red Cross - Greater Richmond Chapter.
2006 - Academies within the Dooley School are reorganized to better reflect specific educational missions. As part of this reorganization, the Sarah Dooley Center for Autism is launched in collaboration with Commonwealth Autism Service.
2009 - St. Joseph's Villa observes its 175th Anniversary.
2010 - St. Joseph's Villa breaks ground on its Campus Redevelopment and Infrastructure Project to update facilities and convert many of its existing roadways into a new, safer and more therapeutic Pedestrian Avenue.
2012 - St. Joseph's Villa completes a five-year effort
to redevelop its campus and to create a safer and more therapeutic environment
for the people it serves.
