Lynchburg Cares
It’s in their Genes

Lynchburg Cares isn’t just a visitor’s bureau slogan. The people of Lynchburg, Virginia care for each other. This community cares about the homeless, the hungry, the abused, at-risk kids and the unemployed.

In Lynchburg, it’s not just lip-service. People put their time, money and talents where their mouth is. Shelters and transition homes take care of the homeless. Food banks distributing donated groceries from area supermarkets and contributions from individuals provide for the hungry.

"Lynchburg Cares" is really thriving in its area churches. All of them heed the call for food clothing, toys, shoes, toiletries and other essentials when a need is identified. Most Habitat for Humanity projects in Lynchburg are done by church members donating their time, skills and labor.

Local businesses and their employees answer the call for merchandise from their inventory, donated labor hours and cash contributions for the needy.

A great example is Grand Home Furnishings. This furniture store has turned donating furniture into an art form and they have been doing since their founding 100 years ago.

Lynchburg Cares: A History of Caring Decade by Decade

The fact that Lynchburg Cares is an ongoing process, a combination of the old and new. Lynchburg Grows dates back to 2003, relatively young for the city.

The 1990’s saw the advent of many of today’s familiar institutions. The Park View United Methodist Churches Community Mission’s seed sprouted in 1996 as did Elizabeth’s Early Learning Center.

Miriam’s House, a transition home for women and their children, opened its doors in 1994 due to the generosity of Elizabeth Forsyth and the Rev. Beverly Cosby. The Gateway House, a residential substance abuse recovery program for homeless men saw its first residents in 1992 and has since taken care of 750 men.

The 1980’s was a good year for the birth of some big names in furthering Lynchburg Care. Habitat for Humanity set up shop in Lynchburg in 1987. The Johnson Health Center started helping people with their health issues on a charitable basis in 1984. Camp Kum-Ba-Yah off Boonsboro Road opened in 1983. The Daily Bread goes back to 1982 when it was started as an outreach ministry of Lynchburg’s First Presbyterian Church.

The 1970’s brought Lynchburg the ever familiar Meals on Wheels which goes back to 1975. The Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship began in 1971.

The 1960’s saw the birth of one of the major powerhouses in how Lynchburg Cares. The Lynchburg Community Action Group, which provides a myriad of services to the homeless and hungry, gives its birth year as 1965.

Jumping way back to the World War II years, 1941 brought Lynchburg the Presbyterian Homes and Family Services organization. It is still in operation today.

Lynchburg's Dirty Little Secret

For about 40 years, things weren’t always so rosy in Lynchburg for many unfortunate souls, specifically the “feeble-minded”, the poor, blind, epileptics and those seen as generally unfit.

This was the era of Eugenics, the notion that the genetic composition of a whole population could be improved through selective sterilizations. The movement was supported by such well known progressives as Margaret Sanger, H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, John Maynard Keynes and, of course, Adolph Hitler.

Between the early 1930’s through the early 1970’s, the State of Virginia authorized compulsory sterilizations for the classes of people just mentioned. About 8,300 Virginians were sterilized against their will at the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded, now known as Lynchburg's Central Virginia Training School.

The practice was halted in the late 1970’s when the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit against the state and won the case. For once, the ACLU did something right and, thank God, those days are behind us; hopefully forever. Perhaps Lynchburg and the State are atoning for those sins through their many programs of helping and caring.

On a Happier Note

This section is intended to recognize those organizations, companies, corporations and individuals who care and show it by their actions. They are the heroes in the community who show their care by working to make life more bearable for those stricken by life misfortunes; lost homes, lost jobs, hungry, and having kids to clothe, feed and care for but without the means to do so.

Let’s move on and see who these heroes of Lynchburg really are, starting with Miriam's House.

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