Your Vote Matters

Charity Challenge spotlight: Uniting people of diverse faiths and shared beliefs

Interfaith Ministries meals on wheels program volunteer

Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston delivers more than one million meals a year to seniors through the organization's Meals on Wheels program.

Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston / Facebook

Houston's a city of great giving and the CultureMap Charity Challenge aims to highlight that. CultureMap selected 12 deserving nonprofits to compete for a grand prize as they all raise awareness for worthy causes. Today: Interfaith Ministries.

Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston brings people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration and service as a demonstration of common beliefs.

The organization manifests the strength of shared beliefs through several areas of service to the community, including their Meals on Wheels program, which provides home-delivered meals to homebound seniors over 60 and their spouses — and they even feed their four-legged friends. The program, which delivers more than one million meals a year to seniors in Harris County, also delivers breakfast and weekend meals to the most frail and isolated seniors.

Interfaith Ministries' Refugee Services department works in conjunction with the U.S. State Department to resettle hundreds of legal refugees fleeing their homeland in fear of political, social or religious persecution in Houston each year.

Additionally, the organization's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Response facilitates communication on behalf of Houston's faith communities during relief and recovery efforts, and their Interfaith Relations program facilitates dynamic interfaith learning experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Vote now for Interfaith Ministries — or one of the other worthy local nonprofits — in the CultureMap Charity Challenge.

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Charity Challenge Winner

Organization with a special mission wins 2016 CultureMap Charity Challenge

Courtesy photo

Freedom Place is the first long-term, comprehensive care facility in Texas for underage victims of domestic child sex trafficking, and is one of only five such facilities in the country.

The votes have been calculated and the results of the third CultureMap Charity Challenge — a two-week online contest in which readers were asked to recognize the good work of a dozen local non-profit organizations — are in.

Garnering 30 percent of the more than 17,000 total votes, Freedom Place is the 2016 grand prize recipient and will receive an exclusive promotion and advertising package from CultureMap valued at $10,000.

Freedom Place is a Christian-oriented care and recovery center for underage female victims of domestic child sex trafficking. It's the first long-term, comprehensive care facility in Texas for underage victims of domestic child sex trafficking, and is one of only five such facilities in the country.

The organization's mission is to offer a successful path to freedom for American children who have suffered as victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

“The benefit of the CultureMap Charity Challenge has been huge. It’s helped unite and unify us for a movement we believe is great,” Debi Tengler, national development director of Arrow Child & Family Ministries, told CultureMap. “It’s been exciting to see our national organization, donors and the community step up and root for us.”

K9s4COPS came in a close second with 28 percent of the votes. Founded in 2010 by Kristi Schiller, K9s4COPS is a non-profit foundation whose mission is to ensure that every law enforcement agency be provided a well-trained K9 to accompany officers on duty, ready for action.

The other worthy local the charities that took in this year's challenge are:

You can read about each charity in the CultureMap Charity Challenge special series.

Freedom Place is the first long-term, comprehensive care facility in Texas for underage victims of domestic child sex trafficking, and is one of only five such facilities in the country.

Houston, Freedom Place, January 2016, girl with horse

Courtesy photo

Freedom Place is the first long-term, comprehensive care facility in Texas for underage victims of domestic child sex trafficking, and is one of only five such facilities in the country.

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