Elizabeth Ballard Community Center

Ballard's Early Childhood Program is committed to providing affordable, quality education for children ages 2-5 in an early childhood educational setting. The program is licensed for 48 students. Ballard assists families in closing the gap between school and home by focusing on trauma-informed care and kindergarten readiness. During 2023, our Education Program had 60 children enrolled; these services involved 52 unique families and 171 household members. The Ballard Center has successfully implemented a kindergarten readiness curriculum with our 5-year-old students averaging readiness scores of 91% academically and 89% socially-emotionally. With our Family Stabilization Program, the Ballard Center connects hundreds of families each year to financial assistance so they can avoid eviction or utility disconnect. We also sponsor twice a month mobile food distribution events and maintain an onsite food and clothing pantry along with diapers and personal care items, that serves Douglas County residents. During 2023, 512 families received financial assistance, 2,972 households involving 10,150 family members received food through mobile food distribution events, and 8,854 household members benefitted from pantry services through 2,854 appointments.