Fairfield Court Turns 20! — Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond

“Some of the best times I’ve had at Boys & Girls Clubs happened at 2506 Phaup Street.”

Those words by Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond Chief Operating Officer Sean Miller rang true for the dozens of Fairfield Court Club alumni, former staff and current members who came out to the Club to celebrate the 20th anniversary.

The doors of the Fairfield Court Club were opened on September 21, 1999 by Mr. Miller at the site of the former Parks & Recreation Center on Phaup Street. Over the last two decades, the Club has served thousands of young people in the Fairfield Court neighborhood.

Many of those alumni and former staff reunited on September 12 and shared their stories from the early days of the Club and the impact that the Club had on their lives.

*Tra’Shaundra Mealy, the 2014 BGCMR and Virginia Youth of the Year, talks about the impact the Club had on her life. Tra’Shaundra recently graduated from Virginia State University.*

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond also gathered together community partners and longtime friends to celebrate the Club’s birthday by officially unveiling a new mural. The mural, painted on the Phaup Street building by members and local artist Sarah Apple, was part of the Love Your Block program that the Club participated in during the spring. The mural’s positive message of voice and unity was developed by the Club’s members for the entire neighborhood to see.

With the help of community partners, the mural and other improvements around the Club were made possible. Those longstanding relationships between community partners and Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond often start at the local Clubs.