The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (Alleghany Business Review) — For Donnie Costigan, Boys Home was more than just a place to live. It was the foundation that transformed a nine-year-old facing difficult circumstances into a college-bound basketball standout and, eventually, into a leader who has dedicated more than two decades to helping the next generation of young men find their own paths to success.
“My past trauma before I came to Boys Home doesn’t define me,” Costigan said. “I make my future, and Boys Home helped me do that. It transformed my life.”
Now serving as director of athletics and recreation, Costigan is approaching his 23rd year on staff at the Covington-based nonprofit, which is celebrating 120 years of service this year. He still holds the record as the second all-time leading scorer in basketball at the institution where he spent nine formative years as a student.
His wife, Laura Robertson Costigan, serves as donor relations manager, a role that allows her to share the organization’s mission with the community. The couple recently appeared on The Value Prop podcast to discuss Boys Home’s history, mission, and future.
“Our mission is the same as when we began: to help each young man develop spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially,” Laura Costigan said. “I would argue that mission is just as relevant as it was 120 years ago, if not more, given what the current youth in our country face.”
While rooted in the Alleghany Highlands, Boys Home serves young men from across the United States, welcoming students from well beyond Virginia’s borders. Its national reach reflects a reputation as a trusted, values-based residential and educational program for young men seeking structure, opportunity, and personal growth.
Boys Home operates a self-contained campus where students live, attend school, and participate in activities ranging from varsity basketball and soccer to clubs and recreation programs. Donnie Costigan oversees the athletic programs and organizes outdoor recreation trips, including kayaking and canoeing on the Jackson River.
The organization, founded by an Episcopal priest and later established as a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit, relies on approximately 98% private funding to operate. Students now arrive primarily through private placement and word of mouth, a significant change from previous decades when some were court-appointed through the Department of Social Services.
“There’s still a pretty negative misconception that stems from the ’80s and ’90s,” Laura Costigan said. “We have a much different kind of student now.”
For Laura Costigan, the work is deeply personal. Her family roots in the Alleghany Highlands run deep, with her grandfather serving as mayor for 19 years. Her mother worked as a social worker at Boys Home for six years, and her uncle served as athletic director and basketball coach at the organization for 13 years.
“When I first got to know Donnie and interviewed him in his office, I started crying,” she recalled. “I can say wholeheartedly, we’re changing lives.”
Community engagement remains central to Boys Home’s mission. Laura Costigan leads the campus Key Club, which logged 105 service hours during the fall semester. Students assisted at the Christmas Mother shop, rang bells for the Salvation Army, and created Christmas cards for veterans.
“I want to help those young men understand why we do that — the importance of giving back to your community,” she said.
The campus gymnasium was recently renovated through donor support, providing students with a modern, high-quality facility for athletics and recreation, even during inclement weather.
Looking ahead, both Costigans expressed hope that Boys Home will continue serving as a beacon of opportunity for young men who need a second chance. They also hope to dispel lingering misconceptions and deepen community involvement.
“I would love for people to be so proud of this as part of our community,” Laura Costigan said. “Anyone can come take a tour. Anyone can come share a meal with the young men.”
For Donnie Costigan, the goal remains simple: continue the work that changed his own life.
“I hope it continues to be a place of hope for young men and a second chance,” he said. “A place to grow young men spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially — to transform their lives and help them become better members of society.”
Those interested in learning more about Boys Home or supporting its mission can contact the organization directly to arrange a tour or discuss volunteer and donation opportunities.
——————————————-
Transcript (Automatic)
Laura Costigan 0:00
Our motto is, what’s learned here is for life, yeah, and so we want every point of the program to develop them into successful men. That’s the goal, right? So academically, physically, that’s why we offer sports different clubs. So we’re trying to give them the tools at boys home so that they can go on to be successful men.
Gene Mundy 0:30
A place that changes lives. We’re here with Donnie and Laura Costigan of boys home. Good morning. Hi. Good morning. So boys home has been around for 120 years. In our community, and I’m happy you guys could join us today, kind of to tell that story, right? You’re right here. Lot of history, but yet some people don’t understand the mission or the role or exactly what is boys home. So we’re anxious to hear about it. So Laura, let’s start with you give us a little bit about your role and what you do at boys home.
Laura Costigan 1:09
So I’ve been at boys home for just over four years now. My role now is in development as the donor relations manager. So that involves quite a few things, but gives me an opportunity weekly to be out there talking about voice home is, I would say it’s probably one of my favorite things to talk about, very passionate about this mission and what we’re doing, and so that’s where I spend a lot of my time, is on the Phone with donors or doing outreach, talking about the mission and how people can get involved.
Gene Mundy 1:45
Donnie, you’re the director of athletics and recreation and an alumni of boys home. Tell us a little bit about what you do there.
Donnie Costigan 1:56
Well, I’m the like you said, I’m the director of athletics and recreation. I’ve been at boys home for 23 will be 23 years in February. So I had several different roles, but my main one is right now is I’m in charge of athletics and recreation. Athletics, we have spring and fall soccer teams, and we also have varsity and JV basketball, right? So of course, I’m in charge of both of those athletics, doing the scheduling, the budgeting, everything that comes goes along with any athletic team, and then also recreation. So I set up different kind of recreation trips for the guys, whether it’s kayaking, canoeing on the Jackson or other places. Of course, I have other staff members that help with me, help me with that, right? So I’m always on my feet. I’m constantly going, that’s where I met you.
Gene Mundy 3:05
You know, last week I taken a tour at Laura and came to the gym, which is fantastic, by the way. It’s a beautiful gymnasium. And, you know, it’s a snow day, I think it was, and you know, you’re, you were there with the with the men, young guys, and Kelly, doing what you do, right? Yeah, yes, sir, yeah. And you’re an alumni, so you came to boys home as a young man, and how many years did you spend there?
Donnie Costigan 3:30
I came to boys home when I was nine years old, and I spent nine years there before I left and went to college
Gene Mundy 3:41
and quite the basketball star right here.
Donnie Costigan 3:45
I think I was pretty good back in the day.
Gene Mundy 3:47
Yeah, he’s still, he holds the record as our second all time leading scorer, yeah, and still holds that record.
Gene Mundy 3:53
So, and at that time, graduate of you know, the students went to Alleghany school system, right? So you were a standout at Alleghany as well?
Donnie Costigan 4:04
Yeah, I played most, most of my time. Basketball career was played at boys home, but I did, I did go to Alleghany my senior year, and because I wanted to play more better competition, right? Be more noticed by other schools. Because at that time, you know, when I first got to boys home, I didn’t really know that. I didn’t know I was gonna be that good in basketball, yeah, and I didn’t know I was, you know that I know further on in my career, you know, I would be able to go to college, right? And boys home made that happen. It was a platform, yeah, definitely, yeah.
Gene Mundy 4:51
Laura, you’re, you know, you’re from the area, you know, so you’ve got a rich background here as well. And give me a look. Can you give us a little bit about that? And sure. You know, you went off to college, and you know, subsequently, both of you came back.
Gene Mundy 5:04
Yeah, so my my family goes back several generations. My grandfather was actually the mayor for 19 years. So I actually remember one of my favorite stories is he actually did door to door campaigning. And I remember being pretty young. I was about seven, and we were in a neighborhood, and he took me with him, and at one point I was like, I’m getting really tired. I didn’t realize this was going to take like, hours. And he’s like, you know, we’re not going to stop until we’ve we’ve knocked on every door in this neighborhood. So you know, rich history with my grandfather and then my parents. My dad retired from longevity. My mom worked in mountain gateway, but an interesting connection is her first job out of college was actually at boys home. She was a social worker there for six years, and my uncle was actually a former athletic director back in the want to say it was the 70s. He was there and a basketball coach. He was there for about 13 years. So great place to grow up. Did graduate from Covington High School? So Donnie would have been my rival back in the day, going to Alleghany. We still talk about that now, yeah, but as I mentioned earlier, you know, I was so excited to leave, came back in 2021 and have my eyes have really been open as to what this community can offer and how it’s really trying to adapt to offer younger people opportunities. Have a great coffee shop on Main Street, you know? And they’re, they’re definitely trying to make it appealing for, I think, for people to come back, right?
Gene Mundy 6:51
And you took the you took this role at boys home. And when someone says, boys home, right? What’s what is that? What do you want them to know? What do you want them to think about the mission of serving these young young men?
Gene Mundy 7:10
Yeah, so like you mentioned, we’ve been there for 120 years. Our mission is the same as what when we began to help each young man develop spiritually, mentally, physically and socially, I would argue that that mission is just as relevant as it was 120 years ago, if not more, if not more, giving what the current youth in Our country different situations that they might be in. It’s a it’s an incredible program that offers a really great opportunity. And I think a lot of people, I would say, even local people, might not know what’s happening up on the hill. That’s our our term. A lot of people call boys home. And so I’m hoping in my efforts and outreach, along with the director of development, to change that.
Gene Mundy 8:08
Yeah, it’s, it was a great tour last week. It was eye opening. I had never been there, you know, I drive up, you know, route 60, and, you know, see the, you know, the houses on the hill, but I’ve never been over there. And what, what really struck me is, it’s almost like a college campus. It’s, it’s self contained, it’s a residential program. And what can you share about, you know, the principles and what you’re what you’re developing in these young men?
Gene Mundy 8:39
Yeah, so And Donnie might be able to speak on that as well, but, you know, we’re trying. Our motto is, what’s learned here is for life, yeah, and so we want every point of the program to develop them into successful men. That’s the goal, right? So academically, physically, that’s why we offer sports different clubs. So we’re trying to give them the tools at boys home, so that they can go on to be successful men. Yeah, it
Gene Mundy 9:12
was a great you know, having lunch with you all, and the young man that joined us. And I’m not going to name names, because he’s, he’s, he’s a he’s a minor, so I don’t want to name names, but no, he was very proud he was involved in the horses, the farm equestrian. Again, that’s something that I didn’t realize was there.
Gene Mundy 9:35
Yeah, yeah. And one thing that’s unique too, is it’s such a complex program, and one thing I love is that there will be some area A student can fit in. So I always say, you know, not every student is an athlete, not every student is going to excel at school, but hopefully, my hope is. Is they find quickly a boy’s home, an area that that’s their happy place, right, you know. And for some young men, you know, being around the horses, the goats, it’s therapeutic. There’s something about being on the farm that just, you know, I love going to the farm.
Gene Mundy 10:19
You know, Donnie, you mentioned you’re an alumni. It’s been a few years, right since, since you first came to boys home. But can you talk to me about, you know, how you you know, how you got, you got there, you you you arrived, and when you first arrived, how, how was that transition, you know, how did that affect you with if it’s personal, I understand, but share what you want to share.
Donnie Costigan 10:47
Well, I’d been through a lot of stuff before I came to boys home. There was a lot of change in my life, lot of ups and downs struggling my parents marriage and I had a social worker that actually said, hey, you know, we want to, we’re going to go visit this place, at voice home, at the mountains. So, yeah, you know, I went, and I felt like I never stayed, like I still, I’m still there today, but it, it was a little scary. I didn’t know what to expect, the unknown. You know, I was nine years old, you know, but little did I know. You know, the program changed my life, you know, it offered me consistent. There was consistency in the program, there was discipline, accountability. I was safe. There was people that cared for me and that actually, you know, believed in me and and it gave me hope in my life. Yeah, so it’s a powerful
Gene Mundy 12:01
story and and I would imagine, really helps you connect with the young men that come there. You know that they’re following in they’re following kind of this the events that led to your arrival. It should help you relate and help guide them.
Donnie Costigan 12:19
Yeah, and I use that a lot. When I talk to the guys, you know, a lot of the guys like, they’ll say, you know, you don’t know what I’m going through, but I do, I do know what they are going through. Because, yeah, it was a different time, but things are still kind of still the same. You know, the program still the same, you know, the structure and the building blocks of the program that was back then. You know, still, we’re still trying to instill that into, you know, the kids, the youth today, young men today. So I tried to give them, you know, advice on, you know, take advantage of the program, right? No, learn from it. Learn from it. Grow. Take advantage of it. You know, because they’re to help you. Yeah, it’s there to help you grow. And, you know, you take it like I told them about, that, you take advantage of it. You never know how far it
Gene Mundy 13:27
you’re shining an example of it will take you as far as you’ll use it. Yeah, not saying that negatively, but you know, it gave you a foundation, and all the positive aspects that you mentioned led you, you know, to college, and you know graduate of which university, Bluefield, university, Bluefield. And then, you know, on on into your professional life, and then to come back. So, I mean, that’s a very powerful commentary that you’re sharing, that I think you know those young men are are, quite frankly, lucky to have you, and we’re talking about this, it’s a residential program, right? The students live there, eat there, go to school there. You know, I think probably from our younger, younger days. You know, as we mentioned, you know, you were integrated and went to the school the Alleghany school system, but you’re kind of self contained. Now, how can you talk to us about that? A little bit?
Gene Mundy 14:34
Laura, yeah. So, you know, one of the reasons, you know, the res, the residential aspect, is we really want them to be fully immersed in this program, and so as we’re trying to create this structure, this consensus, consistency, these expectations, the full legal custody is still with the family, these students go home at Thanksgiving, Christmas. Many will go home in the summer for a period of time. Obviously, parents can come visit, but we want them to really be a part of that community and buy in, if you will, and then look for opportunities to also get them off campus, whether it’s through athletics, church visits. I’ll talk about Key Club later. Those are opportunities for them to get off campus. And then the idea with the school system, a lot of our young men, you know, might need help academically. They’ve been dealing with a lot at home, and sometimes academics can fall behind, like they would for any student. And so our teacher to student ratio is five to one. That’s great. So they’re in a very small classroom, so it’s going to be hard to fall behind. They don’t get lost. No, they don’t, and they have study hall five nights a week, whether they like it or not, there’s a lot of eyes on every student, and that’s intentional, so that we can make sure they’re developing and succeeding in our program, and then if they are struggling or having a setback, we address that in a timely manner to get them back on the path.
Gene Mundy 16:19
How do you translate that when you’re reaching out to donors and to attract? I mean, it’s more than just, you know, financial donors. There’s mentors, there’s people that come in and whether they’re guest speakers or or they’re bringing something to the campus to share. How does you know? How do you do that?
Gene Mundy 16:41
Yeah, I mean, I think by by telling the story, you know, making sure people understand what we’re doing. One of the things when I’m out there talking to civic groups or talking to groups, I always highly recommend is come visit campus. Come, you know, have lunch with the young men, take a tour, right? Which I did. Yes, thank you. And I think you can really see, I can actually almost visually see this moment of, Wow, I didn’t know this is what was happening here. Yeah, exactly. That’s the way I felt when I know and that’s hard. As much as I would like to think I’m a good salesperson and can tell the story, I now have a very personal connection to it. Think Seeing is believing. We have our spring open house the last Saturday in April, April 25 from 11 to four. It’s going to be a great event. That’s a great time to come. Should be warmer. You don’t have to worry about snow and ice breaking the hip. And then if proximity is an issue, we have great some great videos. We have now with some drone footage of campus, some great supportive material. Fortunately, now you can set up zoom calls. Donnie and I had a zoom call to we actually reached out to some donors in California, and they wanted to get to know Donnie better. And so with technology now, there’s multiple ways we can connect, even if you’re, you know, maybe a tour is not feasible, depending on where you are, but like I said, I think seeing the campus and seeing we’re right in the heart of the Alleghany Mountains. We’re on 1200 acres. We actively use five. It’s, it’s a beautiful campus. It is
Gene Mundy 18:38
it, is it? It’s like a community college. I mean, when I walked around the campus, I’m thinking, this is, you know, you’ve got about as much square acreage up there than mountain gateway. Yeah, it’s just a beautiful setting. Absolutely, you know, when Donnie, we talked about you your time there and subsequently coming back. Mean, what’s one lesson from boys home that still resonates with you today?
Donnie Costigan 19:07
I think there’s a lot of lessons that was learned there that I still carry with me today. I think one of them is a power of consistency, just being consistent. In what you’re doing. You know, take something very small that’s given to you and being consistent with it and building it over time, you know, with the effort, you know, showing the effort, and, like I said, consistency, developing that discipline to do the thing, whatever it is, consistency.
Gene Mundy 19:48
Builds habit. Habit. Build structure, builds, you know, success. What? At what point did you realize as a young man, that boy’s home? Change the trajectory of your life.
Donnie Costigan 20:05
Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t really pinpoint a certain time, you know, spot in time when it happened, but I felt like as I began to excel academically and athletically, and I began to buy into that. I feel like I owe all that to boys home because they they believed in me. They they were just very consistent. The program was just consistent with, you know, hey, you have potential academically, you know, we’re gonna,
Gene Mundy 20:49
know, we’re gonna invest in you.
Donnie Costigan 20:51
Yeah, they invested in me. And same thing with athletics, like, you know, as I began to, you know, grow and become better in in basketball, yeah, and all that, you know, consistency in them, buying into me and believing in me helped me to go to college. No, I never thought that. Never thought that I would, you know, coming as a nine year old little boy, like, I didn’t think about going to college. You know, my mom and dad only have an eighth grade education, so, you know, I was doing well just to graduate high school. And then as I got closer, I’m like, now you have the potential to go not only go to college, but also play college basketball, right? And I never thought in a million years that that would happen, and I owe all that to voice on here you are
Gene Mundy 21:48
talking to me on a podcast. Yeah, Laura, one of your roles in cultivating donors, you know, has to be communicating the importance of the trust and transparency, and, you know, helping donors understand what the mission is there. What motivates you to do this?
Gene Mundy 22:16
Because I believe in what we’re doing. Yeah, it’s when I first got to know Donnie and interviewed him in his office. You know, it was a little embarrassing, because I’m surrounded by athletic equipment and basketballs, and I start crying, yeah, and fortunately, he had a tissue, which I thought was very kind, but it’s you know, understandably, now, there’s a lot of skepticism about what people are doing, and are they actually accomplishing the mission, right? And I can say wholeheartedly, you know, we’re changing lives.
Gene Mundy 22:56
Yeah, there’s misconceptions tearing down those mis misconceptions about, you know, about the young men that you serve? How do you do that? How do you address that with people?
Gene Mundy 23:08
Well, one would be opportunities like this to be able to clear up some of those misconceptions I hear quite often. You know, how does a student get there? And I think there’s still a pretty negative misconception about that that stems from the 90s, 80s. We were associated with the Department of Social Services. Students were court appointed, very different type of young man. Now, you know, it’s private placement word of mouth. We have a much different kind of student, so that that’s definitely a misconception that that I would like to shed light on. And so also, just getting out there, being able to get in front of I’m actively seeking opportunities to get in front of groups, organizations, individuals, to me, the more we can talk about it, and people can ask questions, the better that they understand what’s actually happening.
Gene Mundy 24:12
And your boys home is sponsored by by the church. Right? It’s Episcopalian, right?
Gene Mundy 24:19
That we were founded by an Episcopal priest.
Gene Mundy 24:23
Okay. Okay. so that’s the that’s the origin into the origin of the Okay, um, in the community, right? Again, we self contained. You know, the young men go to school there. How does that translate to a broader community sense, how you know we don’t, we don’t see these young gentlemen in class every day. How do we how do we do that, as you know from your role as how do we get them in the community and. How? You know, how does that work?
Gene Mundy 25:02
So our vision, I talked a little bit about the mission. Our vision of boys home is to be a community that inspires young men and our staff to positively impact those around them, right? And so ideally, as staff, we’re living out that vision and then helping to nurture that with the young men. Actually, interestingly enough, became the key club leader this school year, which has had been some interesting experiences, but that’s something that was heavily instilled in me by my parents, my grandparents. You should give back to your community. You should invest in your community, that’s what we’re called to do, right? And so I want to help those young men understand why we do that, the importance of that. So in December, we were out, I think right now, we have about 14 members. We helped at the Christmas mother shop, which is personal to me. My mother was the Christmas mother in 1990 we rang the bell for the Salvation Army on a cold, rainy night. Seems they all are, which I had to entertain some young men for an hour with singing and some, I think there was some dancing. We also made Christmas cards for veterans. And so December, I really wanted to focus on serving and giving back at the club. We actually logged 105 hours for the first semester, and I hope to do the same for the second semester. And so I want to, I think, like the with the misconception I talked about seeing these young men out there and seeing, you know, Donnie can can speak to this too. It’s amazing. Some of the stuff you see on campus, they’re very polished when they’re out, right? You know, very respectful, using their manners. I’m not saying they don’t do that on campus, but they’re also teenagers, sure. But he just got a call, I think, last week, another school complimenting Donnie and and the coaches on how the boys behaved at the school. Great.
Gene Mundy 27:13
I think that, you know, inter the community interaction goes a long way in supporting or reinforcing the values that you’re that you’re really instilling in these guys. If you were talking to a donor and they said, what, what can I do to help? What can we do to help? What could a donor do to help boys home today?
Gene Mundy 27:41
Yeah, I mean, so I think for any donor that’s going to depend on how you want to get involved, you might be retired and have time to volunteer to, you know, my dad teaches fly tying class and comes up and does fly fishing with the young men, you know, also, we are 98% privately funded. That other 2% is is a small portion, and so financial support is always needed. We are a nonprofit, a 501, c3, and so, you know, and ideally, many people help with that type of support, right? You know, whether it be a community, a church, an organization, and so that is one way that we always need support. But there’s other ways too. And so I would want you know, hopefully, a donor that believes in this mission figures out how they can best support boys home.
Gene Mundy 28:47
I’ll mention you have a we were doing the tour. We went in the gym. Fantastic gym, by the way, nice, recently renovated by donor.
Gene Mundy 28:58
I was actually through inevitably, inevitably, and they were a big spearhead of that project. My dad actually led that project. He’s passionate about boys home too, and really commends Donnie for keeping it up and keeping it clean. He’s pretty rigid about the cleanliness. And you know what shoes they’re wearing on the gym floor. And because that’s a great even on these snow days, yeah, or these weather, you know, it’s freezing outside, you can still use the gym, and you can still use the student center,
Gene Mundy 29:31
you know, back to the, you know, what, what you were sharing with us. Donnie, I mean, I would have, I would think that the young men there noticed that somebody in the community. And, you know, Jeopardy is a pretty substantial employer here, making an investment, not just in the structure, but in them. I mean, money can fix a building, but it’s a it’s an investment in them, their environment, you know, their livelihood. It, I would guess, you know, so, I mean, it’s a great story. It’s a great point to share that anybody in the community you know should, should consider, how can we how can we help? Where do you see boys home in 10 years? I’ll ask both of you the question, but I’ll start with Laura.
Gene Mundy 30:27
So I would say, in 10 years, you know, I’ll start with the community aspect. I hope a lot of those misconceptions are gone. I hope that more people are involved. And it really becomes, you know, having, you know, I was born and raised here, I’ve been back for four years. So that would be, you know, over 20 years in my life. I would love for people to be so proud of this as part of our community, you know, and speak to it in a way that’s, you know, isn’t it amazing that we have this right in our community, and to get them in, to get involved and and I, you know, anyone can come take a tour, anyone can come share, share a meal with the young men, you know, and then from the other side, From the student aspect, you know, when you hear Donnie story, I think about, you know, boys home really being a beacon of hope, yeah, and that, you know, maybe there’s other young men out there who could benefit from our program. And you know, where’s the next Donnie Costigan, who, you know, we can tell that story 10 years from now,
Donnie Costigan 31:48
Donnie, I’ll piggyback off of what my wife said. I hope in 10 years, it’s it continues to be a place of hope for young men and a second chance that it continues to a place to grow young men, spiritually, mentally, physically and socially and just transform their lives and help them become better members of society, strengthen their communities and their their own families. Yeah, because I don’t want, I know with me, and I realized this as I got older, and my past trauma before I came to boys home doesn’t define me, you know, I I make my future and in boys home was helped me do that. It transformed my life, and hope that 10 years from now, that continues to help young men transform their lives.
Gene Mundy 33:08
It’s a it’s it is a powerful story. And you are, you know you’re care you carry that banner well. Boys home 120 years a history of changing lives. If you didn’t know now, you know, thanks for joining us today.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
