Elizabeth B. Ballard Community Center

Come join the Ballard family!

Ballard is enrolling now. We have openings for 4-year-olds, as well as spaces in our 2 & 3-year-old classrooms!

Ballard offers on-site therapy services, a variety of volunteer driven art, music, dance, and nature programs, and we believe that no parent should pay more than 7% of their gross income for child care.

Let's make child care affordability a conversation. Learn more by following the link in the comments!

Hey all - we need men's shorts, shoes for all genders and all sizes, larger-size diapers, pull-ups and wipes, NEW underwear for all ages and genders, and 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

You can donate them to our pantry in the HOPE Annex building, just behind the Ballard Center at 708 Elm Street. Open donations from 10-2pm!

Thanks so much!

Want to support Ballard AND attend an excellent Back-to-School Event?

Bob Sight is hosting this awesome back-to-school event benefiting Ballard! Lots of activities, you can bring donations for our pantry, AND teachers get a free oil change!

Hope to see you there!

Congratulations Class of 2026!

We were so excited to celebrate with our graduating class today! Despite the heat, plenty of families showed up to celebrate!!

Thank you all for coming, and if you would like to have your 2,3, and especially 4-year+old join the Ballard crew, give us a call at 795-524-0163, ext. 2!

We'd love to talk to you, and you will never pay more than 7% of your gross income out of pocket for tuition!

ENROLLMENT IS OPEN!

We are enrolling for all of our classrooms, but particularly our 4-year-olds' classrooms. Ballard combines amazing activities, high-quality drivers, and on-site services, including speech and occupational therapy, as well as in-house dance, art, and music classes!

We're excited to make our education services more affordable than ever with our 7% tuition model. Through a combination of Department of Children & Families subsidies, scholarships from partner organizations like Positive Bright Start, and other funding we can provide care for no more than 7% of your household's gross income - even if you are enrolling more than one child.

That means a household of 4, with a gross annual income of $52,000, who was enrolling two children would pay no more than $303 per month out of pocket, even if both children are enrolled.

Want to learn more? Give us a call or check out the enrollment page on the website below

4-YEAR-OLDS WELCOME!

Ballard has enrollment spaces available for kiddos ages 2-5, and we would love to have more 4-year-olds in our pre-K classrooms. Ballard has a great balance of connection, safety, learning, and play, with in-classroom music, art, and dance partners. We offer a variety of on-site services for kiddos who need extra support. AND, we're excited to introduce our 7% tuition model, ensuring you'll never pay more than 7% of your income on child care. So many great reasons to come visit and learn about our amazing program! Link to our enrollment page below!

Big shout-outs to Leann Johnson, our July Volunteer of the Month! Leann can be found in our emergency pantry, helping folks get the food, clothing, hygiene items, and produce they need!

Our Volunteer of the Month program recognizes the effort folks in our community make to strengthen our programs and create opportunities to help others!

Great job, Leann!

We joined our friends at O'Connell Children's Shelter for yesterday's ribbon-cutting, and it was wonderful to see the new facility. That it can work in conjunction with the new Bert Nash youth treatment center is incredibly exciting, providing a safety net for our community's vulnerable youth. Youth who fall out of the foster care system have higher rates of trafficking, abuse, and poorer career and educational outcomes.

Prevention is always less expensive than crisis management, and not only do programs like these benefit the youth involved, but they also lift the burden on emergency services in the community.

We always love it when our fellow nonprofits partner to come up with amazing and innovative solutions, and can't wait to see what the future holds for this program and its partnerships!

O’Connell Children’s Shelter opens family service center in Douglas County O’Connell Children’s Shelter hosted a ribbon cutting Tuesday for a family service center, which staff said will offer wraparound services and three beds for kids in crisis.

Thanks to all the folks who are currently hosting barrel drives to encourage donations of much-needed items to the Ballard pantry. If you're looking for a great way to help, and encourage team-building (or maybe a contest and a little friendly team rivalry), Ballard Barrel Drives are a fun fundraiser that really makes a difference.

Interested? Check out ballardcenter.org/host-a-pantry-drive for more!

Thanks so much to our friends at Keller Williams for hosting this!

Not sure if your items can be donated?

We've got you covered! Check out the Ballard Center's list of accepted and non-accepted donations before you stop by.

*Please also review donation guidelines from the Lawrence Humane Society and Just Food!

Every donation helps support our neighbors in need. ❤

Cleanout & Give
📅 Saturday, September 19 | 9 AM - 12 PM
📍Keller Williams Integrity
545 Columbia Drive Lawrence, KS

Elizabeth B. Ballard Community Center