The idea for “A Children’s Village” began in the fall of 1998 when Father Joe’s Villages acquired a few large tracts of land in Campo, a rural town 50 miles east of San Diego. Upon touring the property, Father Joe and others began envisioning a backcountry home for children without a place to call home. “The land cried out, ‘Send me children!’”, says Father Joe, “so that’s we plan to do.”

Then, in the summer of 2003, the Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation donated the Flying A Ranch to Father Joe’s Villages. This 120-acre site, also located in Campo, with its gently rolling hills, sweeping vistas and shady oak groves, provided the perfect location for “A Children’s Village”.

“It’s time Southern California had a facility similar to Girls and Boys Town in Nebraska,” adds Father Joe, “and this is where it’s going to happen.”

Under the watchful guidance of Barry McComic, a long-time real estate developer and philanthropist, this rural home for kids who have no place to go is taking shape.

See the recent San Diego Daily Transcript article on "A Children’s Village".