What makes a house a home and a town a place where you can thrive?
For Tony Jones, it's love and community. Off the highway outside Omaha, Nebraska, lies Boys Town, a square mile of land dedicated to caring for children aged 10 to 18. Founded in 1917 by Father Edward Flanagan, Boys Town was created to provide a loving environment for at-risk boys. Today, it welcomes both boys and girls from broken homes or troubled backgrounds.
Tony Jones, who grew up in Boys Town, now works to ensure the residents feel the same love he experienced. The town has all the amenities of a typical community: a high school, hospital, post office, and fire department. The adults here are staff and professionals united in their mission to care for the children.
Boys Town's mission is to save children and heal families. Tony oversees the Successful Futures program, which helps bridge the gap from high school to college or the workforce. The goal is to ensure that every child leaves Boys Town better than when they arrived.
Jones speaks from personal experience. Abandoned as an infant and raised by his great-grandmother until her death, he found a home in Boys Town. For him and many others, Boys Town is family.
Father Flanagan's revolutionary ideas in 1917, advocating for love and care for all children regardless of race or religion, still resonate today. Boys Town provides a real home, not just a reformatory. Children live in a supportive and healing environment, where every child is given the opportunity to make life-changing decisions.
