Caring Community

One of our highlights at RVA has been the Caring Community program. It began years ago, in effort to place students in small groups in staff homes. Yes, we teach the students every day and we have them in our dorms  but those are still large group settings. Caring Community takes about 6 or 8 students and places them in a group that meets monthly in a staff home. During that year, relationships are built at a deeper level. And another bonus? It is just fun time - no homework, no chores, just food and fun!

This year was one of my favorite groups ever. Actually, it is the same group we had last year, which rarely happens, but we and the students both loved the dynamics so much we requested one another again! We also had an all boys group (usually they are mixed) and I think it helped to fill the hole we had by leaving a boys dorm 2 years ago. We have had a blast with this group of boys! We love to eat, laugh and tell stories. There is no need to plan anything fancy with this group since they just love to hang out. Our kids love it too - they play games with the boys and Ian will even pull out his light sabers for a friendly fight. We will miss these great guys next year!