A successful capital improvements campaign for Boys Village in 1980 allowed the full-service residential care center for boys to expand its offerings.

The fund drive succeeded in obtaining pledges of $381,426 — which was $27,426 over their goal of $354,000. The money raised was used to construct two new group homes, renovate a home for transitional care, relocate the staff cabins and reconstruct a dorm.

At the time, Boys Village housed 24 young men — which was then the state-alloted maximum.

“After the construction of the additional dormitories, the Village will have the capacity to care for 45 boys,” according to a June 8, 1980, article in the American Press.

Following the successful campaign, the center hosted a country fair to celebrate. The fair included hot air balloon and hay-wagon rides, a moonwalk, mini putt-putt, fishing, potato sack races and horse rides.

Louisiana native Joe Ferguson, then the quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, was also on hand to sign autographs and greet fans.

Sales from barbecue plate lunches sold at the fair as well as proceeds from an auction raised enough funding to pay for a 20-foot-by-50-foot swimming pool at the center.

Boys Village was founded in April of 1948 by a group of Lake Charles businessmen and serves the area “by giving boys from troubled homes an alternative and a pleasant way to grow and mature,” according to the 1980 article.

The organization’s original location was at Chennault Air Base.

The late Judge John T. Hood gave the dedication address in 1948: “A noble and worthwhile job has been done in creating this home for boys. But the job does not end there. There is just the beginning of a long range program to build character and to build better citizens.

“Boys’ Village must be maintained. It must be improved and expanded,” Hood continued. “Changes must be made as they become necessary. The responsibility for maintaining and improving Boys Village rests not alone upon those who have shouldered the burden up to this time, but it rests upon all of us.”

In 1951 the Bel Estate donated buildings that would be disassembled and then reassembled at the Village’s new site at 7378 U.S. 90 East. The buildings included three small cottages, kitchen, a maintenance building, staff living quarters and a large house.

Moving to the U.S. 90 site, a 40-acre campus, allowed the organization to build a recreational complex that includes a gymnasium, running track, baseball and football fields, and tennis and volleyball courts.

Love Cottage was built in 1981 and Hope Cottage was built in 1998. Both offer home-like living for residents. Six bedrooms accommodate 12 boys. The oversized living area is used for peer group meetings or leisure time activities.

In November of 2010, the administration building was destroyed in a fire. About 20 boys were at the facility at the time, but none were injured. A newly rebuilt administrative building opened in April of 2013.

Today, Boys Village has evolved into a treatment program, touching the lives of children who are in critical trouble or have been abused and neglected. Their mission is to restore and preserve children and families socially, emotionally and spiritually.

Most of the youth at Boys Village have been court-ordered to receive treatment; however, parents may seek help for their child who is acting out at home or in school. Boys Village serves boys between the ages of 12 and 18.

Their staff is made up of psychologists, social workers and mental health counselors.