OUR HISTORY IN MINNESOTA
Volunteers of America was founded in 1896 by social reformers Ballington and Maud Booth. They envisioned a movement dedicated to “reaching and uplifting” the American people. On behalf of the organization, the Booths pledged to “go wherever we are needed, and do whatever comes to hand.” That declaration has guided Volunteers of America’s outreach efforts ever since.
1896 - Volunteers of America founded in New York, with a chapter organized in Minneapolis.
1903 - Residential Home opened for working girls in Minneapolis.
1913 - Starr Home opened for working girls in St. Paul.
1915 - Industrial Department opened providing housing, clothing, and furniture for the poor.
1922 - James J. Hill provided a 99-year lease on the family North Oaks farm for use as a summer Fresh Air Camp for mothers and children.
1939 - Began programming as a social welfare agency serving general needs.
1942 - Volunteers of America incorporated in St. Paul. Acquired headquarters on Rice Park, including a senior citizens club.
1943 - Volunteers of America incorporated in Minneapolis. Purchased a 43-acre farm on Dutch Lake for Bar-None Ranch.
1946 - Plymouth Avenue building opened as a social service and recreation center, with an emphasis on “strengthening family life.”
1954 - Land purchased near Anoka for current Bar-None Ranch. A weekend camping program was launched.
1960 - Bar-None residential program with staffed housing began operation for eleven boys with on-site school.
1965 - The Minneapolis and St. Paul organizations were merged into Volunteers of America in Minnesota, Inc. A community group home opened in St. Paul and a halfway house opened in Minneapolis.
1969 - Longfellow Residence Emergency Shelter and Correctional Residential Center opened in Minneapolis.
1971 - Children’s Shelter opened in St. Paul. Galloway Boys Ranch on Mille Lacs Lake acquired.
1976 - Treatment foster care home program opened.
1977 - Timberlane Group Home for emotionally disturbed girls acquired near Milaca.
1979 - New building opened at Bar-None to serve autistic children.
1981 - Received grant from the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging for operation of the Congregate Dining program for senior citizens in Hennepin and Anoka Counties.
1984 - Woodview Detention Center leased from Ramsey County and opened as Regional Correctional Center for Women.
1985 - Volunteers of America of Minnesota incorporated as an independent, statewide, nonprofit corporation.
1986 - Stevencroft Home acquired in St. Paul for autistic young adults.
1987 - Program opened at Bar-None for children with conduct disorders.
1988 - Settevig House purchased in Mora for adults with developmental disabilities. Bar-None programming shifted from autistic children to emergency shelter.
1989 - Home purchased in Princeton for adults with developmental disabilities.
1994 - Opened Bar-None evaluation unit for children, CornerStone Transitional Housing, and child care program for homeless women.
1996 - Residential facility opened in Columbia Heights for adults with chronic, persistent mental illness.
1997 - New, secure, intensive treatment units opened at Bar-None for adolescents
with conduct disorders. Mental Health Clinics opened.
1998 - Senior Resources, Inc., merged into Volunteers of America of Minnesota. Alter- native school for 4th - 8th graders opened in Minneapolis. Foster home for developmentally disabled adults purchased in Princeton.
1999 - House purchased in Mora to provide community-based apartment living for adults with developmental disabilities. Partnered with five other nonprofit organizations to form Eldercare Partners. Added East Central Minnesota Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
2000 - Opened Alternative High School in Minneapolis and Women’s Recovery Center. Added Care Options Network, Children’s Residential Treatment Center, Greater St. Paul RSVP, and MAO Senior Support Services.
2001 - Opened two new homes in Milaca for adults with developmental disabilities. Initiated sponsorship of Harbor City International Charter School in Duluth. Established Senior Mental Health component.
2002 - Partnership started with Major League Baseball Players. Launched the Enterprise car donation program. Caregiver Services became available with Eldercare Partners. Opened Assisted Living program at Parker Skyview.
2003 - Education program for Somali immigrants opened at Alternative High School. Opened Assisted Living at Nicollet Towers in Minneapolis.
National Historical Summary:
THE EARLY 1900s
In turn-of-the-century America, there was no shortage of work to do. The Volunteers moved into tenement districts to care for people in poverty. They organized day nurseries and summer camps, provided housing for single men and women, and established the nation's first system of halfway houses for released prisoners.
THE DEPRESSION
The Great Depression of the 1930s stretched the nation's private social welfare system almost to the breaking point. Volunteers of America mobilized to assist the millions of people who were unemployed, hungry and homeless. Relief efforts included employment bureaus, wood yards, soup kitchens, and "Penny Pantries" where every food item cost one cent.
WARTIME
Volunteers of America served proudly on the home front during both world wars. The group operated canteens, overnight lodging and Sunday breakfasts for soldiers and sailors on leave. Affordable housing and child care were provided for defense industry workers. Further, Volunteers of America spearheaded community salvage drives during World War II, collecting millions of pounds of scrap metal, rubber and fiber for the war effort.
THE 1960s
Our special mission in housing dates to our organization's founding. Volunteers of America helped accelerate real estate development during the 1960s by taking part in numerous federal housing programs. Since 1968, Volunteers of America has developed over 300 affordable housing complexes in more than 30 states.
THE 1970s
In the 1970s, the organization emerged as a major provider of professional long-term nursing care. Today, Volunteers of America not only offers home health care and related services, but owns and operates several nursing facilities, and assisted and independent living residences.
Now in our second century of service, Volunteers of America is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive human services organizations, touching the lives of more than 2 million people each year in communities across the United States. Planning for the next 100 years, Volunteers of America will continue to prove that “there are no limits to caring.”