Our History

Marla Fitzwater, Founder and Executive Director of ACE, arrived on the island in 1988 coordinating short-term mission teams to work in Jamaica. Her work began to form what is now ACE. During the early years, Marla quickly observed that those receiving the primary benefit from volunteer efforts were actually the people and organizations who were serving. These visitors were touched by the experience and inspired to continue serving others upon returning home. Ironically, the local community had not experienced any long lasting change.

Despite the projects and improvements, the community inevitably returned to a poverty state physically, mentally and most of all, spiritually. She also learned that poor healthcare and lack of education was a reality and that without improvements in those two basic areas, people just wouldn’t have a chance to grow and flourish the way God intended. Through these tough lessons, the strategy for ACE’s outreach was born. To this day, our ministry focuses in four main areas of Impact: education, healthcare, enterprise, and discipleship.