Often when I’m watching television it seems like there are ads for organizations needing money from every part of the world.  Children from faraway places needing food and medical supplies, pet charities in big cities, food programs from the US and abroad, and a ton of assorted other needs.  So well publicized that the little hometown entities seem to fade from our eyes. 

Here in Webster City we have All Cultures Equal (ACE).  You may have driven past it on Old Highway 20, looked at all the different flags and wondered what that building is.  The flags represent all the different countries and cultures that come together in this melting pot of community we call home.  I define ACE as a safe place where people of any culture or economic status can come together.  So on any given day, you may find people from other cultures needing help, the local poor needing food, or just a place of community where we can celebrate life in general. 

In the past few months the ACE board has been working with a Community Specialist from Iowa State University.  We are reassessing community needs and developing a new vision for ACE.  “Our vision is a community that welcomes and accepts all cultures, connecting neighbors and creating an open place to share the best of who we are.” That vision reminds me of how every culture’s interpretation of the Bible offers us all something to learn.  But I’m not trying to get all churchy on you so let me tell you what goes on at ACE. 

People from many different cultures come in for help getting acclimated to life in our area.  It can be anything from help understanding English for school paperwork, banking, and immigration.  People may pop in from Hamilton County, Wright County, or even from Des Moines.  ACE is a safe place that will provide help and or direction to all.  

With the governmental struggles on immigration, having a safe place for help is important.  It’s quite a paradox having so many open jobs in this area, having available bodies to fill them, and yet be held up by paperwork.  What grieves me even more is that some people are filling out legal documents on who would be guardians of their children if they should have to leave the country.  What ACE does, helps everyone.

When some people shied away from area food banks out of fear, Asbury United Methodist Church began sponsoring a food bank at ACE.  The intent was to serve those in need where they felt safe.  The church realized this wasn’t a mission in a far away land but a worthy mission here at home.  Something tangible, making a difference where we live and seeing the faces first hand of those served. 

Tangible is the reason for this article.  ACE endeavors to serve this community and needs monetary support from the community.  To make things better we must invest in ourselves, the community. ACE is making positive changes in meeting the needs of the community in uncertain times, but we need your support to do it.  For instance, ACE is housing Head Start on a temporary bases until their new place is ready. 

ACE provides classes for those preparing for Citizenship. We have future dreams of offering English classes tailored to the needs of local businesses.  Wouldn’t it be something if those classes were able to correspond to the new employee orientation of local manufacturing? 

Yes we have goals and dreams and we invite you to be part of the dream for a better community. We are a 501c3 non-profit and your financial help can keep the dream alive.