Doorstep Inc.

With the assistance of faith-based organizations, community members and groups, Doorstep, Inc. will provide short-term emergency aid to families and individuals in need; and provide information on services to promote long-term self-sufficiency for our clients.

On June 8th, 1966 a tornado roared through Topeka.  In minutes, seventeen people were killed and hundreds were injured in addition to damages totaling right at one hundred million dollars.  Thousands of people were in need of shelter, food, clothing and furniture.  One of the agencies lending help to the people in need was a six month old agency named Doorstep, born of the need that six congregations saw for help at their own ”doorstep.”  The tornado seemed to galvanize Doorstep and provide us focus.   

Doorstep grew by leaps and bounds and was providing many community and Christian service needs in Topeka.  Doorstep had a daycare and clothing bank that were located in Central Congregational Church.  The food bank was located at Central Presbyterian Church.  There were numerous other programs such as The Salt Company, which was a coffee house for teens, sewing and cooking classes, transportation, travel to seminars to educate young people, provided low-cost housing, provided forums for discussing welfare reform, helped with high school certifications and grants to get into college.  Doorstep also bought and fixed up dilapidated houses and resold them for a monthly price that a low-income family could afford in addition to sponsoring beautification and playground projects.

projects.

White and black ministers acted as mediators between parents of black students and Topeka schools after a strike and convinced the parents to send the students back to school.  Segregation had only recently been done away with and these were fragile times, however, Doorstep trudged ahead.  Ministers from Doorstep sat in with police, parents, kids, and experts to figure out why street fights were breaking out.  They found the cause to be attitudes of discrimination passed from one generation to another.  Doorstep used its daycare to introduce the races to one another.  Doorstep has always been a remarkable example of people working together across denominational and racial lines without losing focus.

Through the years, Doorstep has evolved into a modern faith-based emergency aid agency.  Along the way certain needs in the community were taken care of by other organizations and businesses.   Doorstep continued to change and grow to fit the need becoming what we are today.  Doorstep started out operating out of Central Congregational Church with the food bank being located in Central Presbyterian and Grace United Methodist.  With the need growing Doorstep needed more space and secured the building at 12^th and Washburn in 1981.  Unfortunately, the need continued to grow and additional space was needed.  The building at 10^th and Buchanan was purchased in 1993, where Doorstep operates out of today.  The building at 12^th and Washburn  opened as “The Dovetail Shoppe” (a thrift store)  in November, 1994, and closed in April, 2018.

Doorstep has had some kind of Christmas Store for at least 47 years.  We participated in the first CROP Walk in 1976, and did every year until it ended in 2016.  We have provided the Topeka community with clothing and household furnishings for 53 years.  Doorstep has helped more than 385,159 households with services, which involves over 944,833 individuals. 

Doorstep has always operated with input from each member congregation making this organization their own.  The staff and volunteers through the years have shown Gods’ love through their actions and helping hearts.  From the very first Executive Director, Donna Kidd, who held that position for 12 years, to our current Executive Director, Lisa Cain, who has been here for 25 years in various positions, dedication and conviction is what this organization is made of.     

Doorsteps’ goal in the beginning was “to provide short-term emergency service, to be aware and use other organizations for long-term assistance, and become an advocate in helping people.”   In that aspect, things haven’t changed much at Doorstep.  Where do we go from here?  Wherever it is we know that neighbors will continue helping their neighbors at Doorstep!