Lois Curtis Center

08/24/2026

Today, we preserved some of our garden delights!

08/19/2026

Again this summer, we hosted an internship for 14 young people who worked, learned, created, and shared six weeks with us. The music for this video was one of the many things they created. The photo collage captures some of their other activities.

We are always impressed with the young people who share their summers with us, and the amazing things they create. So we are pleased to present: Try, Try, Try

Original song written and performed by the 2026 Lois Curtis Center ...

08/14/2026

We were so happy to be included in the Central Highland Park NIA National Night Out Block Party and school supply drive for Highland Park Elementary School ! We are all safer when we know and care for our neighbors.

08/07/2026

Still time to come for fun and BINGO at Cosmos Court

07/21/2026

We have been asked by community members about donating school supplies for the upcoming school year. We make supplies available to families and students who need them, so we are always in the process of collecting items. We have compiled the following list of items students will need for the 2026-2027 school year from the official USD 501 grade lists.

Items can be dropped off at the Center, ordered online for delivery, or collected at a location and we can send someone to pick them up!

There are other agencies collecting school supplies for distribution; we appreciate donations for our learners wherever folks decide to contribute.

USD 501 school supply list K – 8th Grade
24-count crayons
Colored pencils
Colored markers
#2 Pencils
Ball point pens (no gel)
highlighters
Pencil-top erasers
Big erasers
Glue sticks
Primary composition notebooks
Composition notebooks
Wide ruled spiral notebook, single subject
College ruled single subject spiral notebook
Loose leaf notebook paper, wide ruled
Loose leaf notebook paper, college ruled
3x5” index cards
Plastic pocket folders with prongs
Plain folder with inside pockets
1” three-ring binder
1 ½” three-ring binder
Black dry-erase markers (fine tip)
Tissues
Disinfecting wipes
4-pack Playdough
Headphones, non-earbud
Earbuds
5” blunt tip scissors
6” scissors
Hard plastic pencil box
3-hole pencil pouch with zipper
Watercolors

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07/20/2026

Topeka local folks - the proposed rental registry is an initiative we think would give folks better information about the conditions of rental housing in our neighborhoods.

Last week, citizens took a stand against data centers as bad neighbors and City Council listened and acted. This week, City Council can take a small first step towards creating accountability for landlords as our neighbors.

Your first step? If you can’t go to City Council Tuesday and speak up or send a direct message to your council member, you can sign the following petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/push-city-council-to-implement-a-rental-registry?source=direct_link&

On July 21st City Council will be holding a hearing to discuss implementing a rental registry for Topeka. Topeka Tenants has determined that this will help renters prove the chronic maintenance neglect and hold landlords accountable with an ordinance that makes violations public and enforced. In ord...

07/19/2026

Thanks to everyone who showed up, supported, and donated (many, many who fit all three…) at our birthday party celebration. And thanks to WIBW for the fantastic feature.

Lois Curtis Center honors late disability rights activist

07/14/2026

Thanks to WIBW, Callie Holthaus & WIBW Eric Ives for the fantastic peek into the Center.

We will have a birthday party celebration Saturday July 18th from 4-7pm. Food, family fun, gifts, and the premiere of our short form documentary, “The Formula.” Stop by if you are in the neighborhood!

A different sort of community center is named for the woman whose efforts led to a Supreme Court ruling that people with disabilities have the right to live in their community. >>> https://www.wibw.com/2026/07/14/salute-our-heroes-lois-curtis-center-strives-foster-community-voiceless/

05/24/2026

May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Did you know the Lois Curtis Center is disabled/Brown/Black/woman/LGBTQ/direct support professional led – including our Director, who is Hawaiian? The Lois Curtis Center is committed to prioritizing resources for Black and brown community members; we are working to create cultural spaces that nurture, educate, and support the ‘ike (knowledge, understanding) of our identities, especially as our existence and safety as Black and brown people are challenged.