Who Are We

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking for Answers?

Below are the most commonly asked questions by our constituents. If you can’t find the answer you're looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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How do I get help?

If you need help , please call us at 281-342- HELP (4357) 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency assistance, or email us at info@fbwc.org.

If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.

What services does Fort Bend Women's Center Provide?

Once we have made sure you are safe, we have a wide range of services designed to help you become truly independent of abuse and to live a life, free of violence and fear. These services range from emergency shelter , safety planning, counseling to housing assistance.

How can I get involved?

We’re always on the lookout for individuals like you wanting to get involved. Visit our Get Involved section to find out ways to donate or volunteer.

If I were to donate funds, how is my money used?

We have a responsibility to our community and our donors and work hard to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization. We make our IRS Form 990 available for review, as required by law. Visit our Financials page to learn more.

What is your organization's privacy policy?

Our organization takes our privacy policy seriously and takes steps to protect and ensure the safety of our supporters. We do not sell or otherwise disclose information about our volunteers or supporters outside of our immediate organization. This policy has no exceptions. We do not sell or exchange your information with any other organizations, public, private or nonprofit. For more detailed information visit our Privacy Policy page.

Where can I drop off donations I've collected for clients?

Donations for our families can be taken to the Administrative office: 501 E Hwy 90A, Richmond, TX or any of our ThriftWise Resale Store or Donation Center locations. Please specify that you would like your donation to go directly to a survivor and/or their children. We will deliver to the families.

What is the age requirement to be a volunteer?

Volunteers must be 15 years of age. Anyone under 15 must be accompanied by a parent. Children under the age of 12 are not permitted to volunteer due to safety. To work directly with our clients, you must be 21 years of age.

Do you have opportunities for groups to volunteer?

Yes! We would love to host your team! Here are some ways your group can volunteer together or team build: ThriftWise Resale Stores; host a donation drive; update property with landscaping; provide or even serve a meal at the shelter. Fill out a Group Volunteer Request Form to get started.

How can I get community service hours for school?

ThriftWise is a great place for you to start earning your community service hours. First step is to complete an application online, attend orientation and then sign up for your preferred ThriftWise location.

Do you accept volunteer interns?

Yes. We accept interns that can do all three terms of their practicum work in counseling with us. Volunteer interns must complete an Internship Application and attend the Direct Service training prior to beginning their internship. If you have further questions, contact the volunteer department, volunteer@fbwc.org or 281-344-5750.

When is the next volunteer orientation?

We offer volunteer orientation at the Administrative office- 501 E Hwy 90a. Complete the application online. You will receive an invite to the next orientation with details. Orientation dates and times are listed in the Calendar of Events.

I cannot make it to Volunteer Orientation. Can I still volunteer?

Yes. Contact our volunteer department at volunteer@fbwc.org . Some positions require face-to-face interaction prior to starting.

Can I get Court-Ordered Community Service hours at Fort Bend Women's Center?

Yes. WE CANNOT ACCEPT APPLICANTS WITH THEFT, FORGERY OR ASSAULT CASES. NO EXCEPTIONS. Visit our Volunteer section for the Court-Ordered community service rules and guidelines. If you have further questions, contact the volunteer department at volunteer@fbwc.org or call 281-344-5750.

When is direct service advocate training offered?

Direct Service Advocate training is offered a few times a year. It is a 40 hour time commitment. Fill out a volunteer application and the indicate you are interested in the training and you will be contacted prior to the next available class.

What is your Privacy Policy?

Download a copy here

 

Privacy Policy

The Fort Bend County Women's Center, Inc., A United Way Agency, takes great care in handling all information gathered on this website. All personal information collected on this website, including your name, mailing/physical address, e-mail address, telephone number, credit card information etc., is private and confidential. We will never disclose any information you enter, nor sell the information to 3rd parties. Further, we do not collect computer location identifiers, including IP addresses or unique visitor statistics. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. If you have any concerns about the usage of your information or the removal of your personal information from previously subscribed email listings, feel free to contact our Administrative Offices at 281-344-5750 or simply email us.

1. What Information Do We Collect? When you visit our website you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and website use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our website.

2. Personal Information You Choose to Provide We may request that you voluntarily supply us with personal information, including your email address, postal address, home or work telephone number and other personal information for such purposes as correspondence, placing an order, requesting an estimate, or participating in online surveys. If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone.

3. Website Use Information Similar to other websites, our site may utilize a standard technology called "cookies" (see explanation below, "What Are Cookies?") and web server logs to collect information about how our website is used. Information gathered through cookies and server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our website, and the sites visited just before and just after ours. This
information is collected on an aggregate basis. None of this information is associated with you as an individual.

4. How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us? Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business activities, providing service and support and making available other products and services to our customers and prospective customers. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. The lists used to send you product and service offers are developed and managed under our traditional standards designed to safeguard the security and privacy of all personal information provided by our users. You may at any time to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers.

5. What Are Cookies? Cookies are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a website. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by a user's web browser on the user's hard drive. Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one web page to simplify subsequent interactions with that website by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user's transactions on related web pages. This makes it easier for a user to move from web page to web page and to complete commercial transactions over the Internet. Cookies should make your online experience easier and more personalized.

6. How Do We Use Information Collected From Cookies? We use website browser software tools such as cookies and web server logs to gather information about our website users' browsing activities, in order to constantly improve our website and better serve our users. This information assists us to design and arrange our web pages in the most user-friendly manner and to continually improve our website to better meet the needs of our users and prospective users. Cookies help us collect important business and technical statistics. The information in the cookies lets us trace the paths followed by users to our website as they move from one page to another. Web server logs allow us to count how many people visit our website and evaluate our website's visitor capacity. We do not use these technologies to capture your individual email address or any personally identifying information about you.

7. Notice of New Services and Changes Occasionally, we may use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable.
As a user of our website, you will be given the opportunity to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers by clicking on a response box when you receive such an offer or by sending us an email request.

8. How Do We Secure Information Transmissions? When you send confidential personal information to us on our website, a secure server software which we have licensed encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. The information is scrambled en route and decoded once it reaches our website. Other email that you may send to us may not be secure unless we advise you that security measures will be in place prior to your transmitting the information. For that reason, we ask that you do not send confidential information such as Social Security, credit card, or account numbers to us through an unsecured email.

9. How Do We Protect Your Information? Information Security -- We utilize encryption/security software to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information we collect from unauthorized access or disclosure and accidental loss, alteration or destruction. Evaluation of Information Protection Practices -- Periodically, our operations and business practices are reviewed for compliance with organization policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality and quality of our information. Employee Access, Training and Expectations -- Our organization values, ethical standards, policies and practices are committed to the protection of user information. In general, our business practices limit employee access to confidential information, and limit the use and disclosure of such information to authorized persons, processes and transactions.

10. How Can You Access and Correct Your Information? You may request access to all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain in our database by emailing us using the contact form provided to you within the site structure of our website.

11. Do We Disclose Information to Outside Parties? We may provide aggregate information about our customers, sales, website traffic patterns and related website information to our affiliates or reputable third parties, but this information will not include personally identifying data, except as otherwise provided in this privacy policy.

12. What About Legally Compelled Disclosure of Information? We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights.

13. Permission to Use of Materials The right to download and store or output the materials in our website is granted for the user's personal use only, and materials may not be reproduced in any edited form. Any other reproduction, transmission, performance, display or editing of these materials by any means mechanical or electronic without our express written permission is strictly prohibited. Users wishing to obtain permission to reprint or reproduce any materials appearing on this site may contact us directly.

14. No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.