Las Vegas is the Strip. Glitz. Over-the-top theatrics. Pure entertainment. Excess. We all know this. It's precisely what we expect.
There's another Las Vegas lurking just beyond the Strip. This is the real Las Vegas, where people live and kids go to school and -- if they're lucky -- have enough to eat. It, too, has its share of excess but in an entirely different way.
This is the Las Vegas I've come to know through my work. Here are the stark facts from Three Square:
One in eight households in Nevada struggle with hunger
48% of children in the Clark County (Las Vegas) School District receive free meals at school
While tourists enjoy the bountiful buffets and world-class restaurants, nearly 31,000 kids a month in that same city rely on the local food bank or its partners for their food. The kids who received free meals at school -- which likely was their primary nutrition -- are in the midst of a summer vacation marked by hunger. The contrast between the "haves" and the "have nots" couldn't be more stark.
So, while we're talking Vegas, be aware of the other Vegas. If you have a few bucks to help feed some kids, you can really make a difference. The local food bank has a site set up to help feed kids over the summer. You can see it here: Summer Lunch League. If you want to see what the food bank is doing all year long, visit it here: Three Square Food Bank.