By Juanita E. Davis
The Answer Staff Writer

“The face of hunger has changed.  It is no longer just the person on the corner with the sign, but it is your neighbor, your own family, the elderly, and the new population — grandparents raising their grandchildren.”  Those are the words of Joyce Eatman, Founder and President of Ladies Advocating Christian Entertainment (L.A.C.E.).  In April, the local not-for-profit faith-based organization, which assists needy families and individuals with emergency food as they await approval of their food stamp applications, celebrated its 20-Year Anniversary. 

L.A.C.E. did not start out as a solely food-based organization.  In its first two years, the main focus was that families come together to enjoy “clean entertainment (such as fashion shows, musicals, and plays) that could be enjoyed by all members of the family, and where no one would be embarrassed (at what was being watched),” hence the meaning of L.A.C.E.

From day one, Eatman has had a passion for ensuring that families and individuals were well-fed.  Therefore, as a cover charge for attending the events that were hosted by L.A.C.E., she only asked each attending family to donate one non-perishable food item and a monetary love offering.  She soon found out that some families could not afford that, because they themselves were in need.  With that truth being a personal burden to her, the organization began preparing and handing out Thanksgiving Day food baskets to needy families in the community.  “For awhile, we worked out of the trunks of our cars, but families and individuals got food,” she said.

Project Home, which is run by the Economic Opportunity Board (EOB), heard about L.A.C.E.’s charitableness and asked the organization to provide an emergency food basket for a family until the family’s food stamp application process was finalized.  L.A.C.E.’s new mission began with that one family, evolving to one family per week to now many families in a five-day work week.  After two years, the organization’s focus shifted from family entertainment to family nourishment, and it is now solely the food-based organization that we see today.

Despite the state of the economy, especially today’s, L.A.C.E. has never had to turn a family away.  Eatman stresses, “that is not due to the fact that food supplies nor funds have ever gotten low.  We’ve had our struggles and challenges over the years, but we have always walked by faith (in God),” she said.

 L.A.C.E. is not a government-funded organization.  All funds are generated through contributions and donations from people in the community and area businesses and organizations.  Some of the businesses and organizations that donate to L.A.C.E. do so by way of monetary donations.  Others conduct food drives.  Eatman has even used her own personal resources to ensure that no one went hungry.

L.A.C.E. is also a recipient of the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.  Each year in the first week of May, a bag is placed at the door of every home across the United States.  The USPS asks each household to place a non-perishable, non-expired, food item in the bag and leave it to be picked up on the first Saturday in May.  Once collected, the USPS will then distribute the food items to receiving organizations.  This year’s pickup date is May 8, 2010. 

Lack pays no respect to a recession, nor does hunger.  In today’s economy, donations are especially needed in order to ensure that L.A.C.E.’s vision continues to be seen, that “No Child Goes to Bed Hungry.” And, says Eatman, “By child, we mean men, women, as well as minors.”  L.A.C.E. also has operational costs to include rent and utilities for its 1,000 square-foot facility located at 2545 S. Bruce Street, Suite D, Las Vegas, NV 89169. 
In celebration of its 20-Year Anniversary, L.A.C.E. is kicking off a campaign known as “20/20 Vision: I Can See Clearly Now” and is asking individuals, churches, businesses, and organizations for a donation of at least $20.00.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, you may mail it to: L.A.C.E., P.O. Box 570163, Las Vegas NV 89157.  To make food contributions or to find out how to get assistance from L.A.C.E., please call Joyce Eatman at (702) 638-8900 or visit the organization’s website at www.lace4families.org.