History

Incorporated on August 15, 1991, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia has been serving children in our area since 1992, when the Club started operations at the City of Charlottesville’s Smith Pool and Recreation Center on Cherry Avenue. In total, BGCCVA comprises six Clubs, three “greater Charlottesville” Clubs and three rural Clubs in Orange, Madison, and Scottsville.

The early 2000s saw a period of rapid expansion, creating Clubs at Southwood Mobile Home Park (2000), Taylor Educational Administration Complex (formerly the Prospect Heights Middle School) in Orange, Virginia (2001), and Journey (formerly Jack Jouett) Middle School (2003). The Southwood Club expanded in 2007 in order to serve the increasing demand for after school and summer programs in the area.

The Madison Club opened in 2008 on the campus of Madison County High School. Both the Orange and the Madison Clubs operate under the corporate structure of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia, with local oversight and management under the guidance of Orange-based and Madison-based advisory boards.

Also in 2008, the City of Charlottesville demolished the Smith Pool with plans to rebuild in the spring of 2009, and BGCCVA was given approval to build adjacent to the new Smith Aquatic Center. In September 2010, the Club opened its first new building at Cherry Avenue to serve the Charlottesville community.

In 2011, Madison County Public Schools offered the Madison Club a larger space to accommodate demand for membership. At that time, the Club relocated from the high school campus to the new site, adjacent to Waverly Yowell Elementary.

In 2012, the Southwood Club expanded again, thanks to the Club’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, which purchased the Southwood Mobile Home Park in 2007.

In 2014, BGCCVA expanded again with the opening of the James River Club in the old Scottsville Elementary School. This Club serves children in Buckingham, Fluvanna, and southern Albemarle counties.

In 2015, the Orange Board worked closely with Orange County Public Schools to renovate the Orange Club, resulting in a bright, new space offering a designated teen area, along with a custom instructional kitchen to accommodate many activities, including the Club’s outstanding healthy lifestyles programming.

In 2017, BGCCVA expanded the Southwood Club facility for the third time in order to eliminate a waiting list. The expansion included a new triple-wide mobile unit, including program space, a kitchen, and a dance studio.

To address a long-identified need in Albemarle County for out-of-school-time services for youth, BGCCVA constructed and opened a 52,000 square foot free-standing Club on the Lambs Lane Campus in the County’s northern urban ring in April 2023. Located in walking distance of Greer Elementary School, Journey Middle School, and Albemarle High School, the Albemarle Campus Club tripled the service capacity of the former Jack Jouett Boys & Girls Club.

Today, BGCCVA serves 2,000 children and teens across six Central Virginia locations.