Two gifts for the Lied Center of Kansas will support the center’s Performing Arts Access Expansion program, which aims to increase access to arts programs for Lawrence middle- and high-school students, Kansas University said in a news release Tuesday. 

The gifts, each for $100,000, will give all local middle- and high-school students the opportunity to attend free, age-specific, school-only performances curated by the Lied Center. 

The Lied Center has provided free, schools-only performances for students in kindergarten through fifth grade for more than 20 years. The center, currently in its 22nd season, has presented more than 62 school-only performances. 

The lead private gift was from the Dolph C. Simons Jr. family of Lawrence, and a lead foundation gift was from the Ethel and Raymond F. Rice Foundation of Lawrence.

“The Rice Foundation is pleased to have been able to make this grant to the Lied Center to start an endowed fund, which we believe will be of substantial educational benefit to the youth of our community,” said Peter Curran, president of the Rice Foundation board of trustees. 

Dolph C. Simons Jr., editor of the Lawrence Journal-World, said the center and its programs play an important role in the educational experience for K-12 students in Lawrence. 

“This expansion will enrich the lives of many more young people throughout the district, and the Simons family is pleased to be able to help in this effort,” Simons said.