OUR MISSION
Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM) brings people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration, and service, as a demonstration of our shared beliefs.
Learn more about our services and clients in the short video (above). You will also find other videos about our services, programs, and volunteers.
OUR VISION
Interfaith Ministries envisions a community working and acting together in response to the needs of a Greater Houston to create a more respectful, connected, and caring society.
OUR POSITION STATEMENT
Interfaith Ministries is an inclusive connecter of people, faith communities and resources in our nation’s most diverse city, sustaining healthy and respectful lives for vulnerable populations and promoting interfaith relations and volunteerism.
A.1.6 Diversity and EEO Statement:
IM recognizes and celebrates the rich cultural, racial, religious, and social pluralism of the Greater Houston Community. IM is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusion. IM does not discriminate in the hiring, assignment, promotion, transfer, training and development, compensation, benefits, disciplinary action or termination of employees on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, sex, ethnic or national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political association, veteran status, or disability as defined by federal, state, and local law.
OUR VALUES
F – Focus: We work hard to achieve IM’s mission, vision and strategic goals. We are motivated by the trust and expectations of our clients, partners and donors.
I – Integrity: We do what we say and we keep our promises. We strive for excellence and hold ourselves to the highest standards while taking responsibility for our actions.
R – Respect: We value diversity of opinion, thought and beliefs. We treat everyone the way we want to be treated with kindness and dignity.
S – Service: We help others with a spirit of compassion. We put the needs of those we serve above our own.
T – Transparency: We are honest, open and truthful. We proactively and willingly share information with the community and each other.
At Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, we believe that, through service and dialogue, it is possible for very diverse people to know one another and find common ground, while still embracing our personal beliefs and cultures. We celebrate the strength of our shared beliefs through four areas of service:
- Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston and Galveston County/Animeals delivers more than 1.7 million meals each year to over 7,300 unduplicated seniors in Harris, Galveston, and surrounding counties. In addition, pets of seniors receive free pet food and other services through our Animeals program.
- Refugee Services, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, resettles thousands of refugees in Houston each year and helps our newest neighbors successfully acculturate to American life.
- Interfaith Relations and Community Partnerships engages houses of worship, businesses, organizations and non-profits in dialogue, collaboration and service to embrace the philosophy of “Respect Thy Neighbor.”
- The Vic Samuels Center for Volunteerism and Civic Service, a resource for Houstonians ready to make a continuing and lasting impact on the community through organized service and leadership. It includes:
- Volunteer Houston actively connects people and organizations in impactful, fun and interactive volunteer opportunities across the Greater Houston area.
- SERVE HOUSTON is a service learning and leadership experience for college students.
In 1955, the Houston Council of Churches launched IM’s predecessor organization, the Church Welfare Bureau, to organize the Protestant community to minister to those in need. In 1964, the Bureau was reorganized as Protestant Charities of Houston, a group that was joined and strengthened by the Jewish community. Officially chartered as Houston Metropolitan Ministries in 1969, IM has been a leading force in bringing together people of all faiths to serve people in need in the greater Houston area.
IM was renamed Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston in 1992 to reflect support from increasingly diverse faith traditions.
Effective March 28, 2019
Our Commitment to Privacy
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find we make it available on our homepage.
The Information We Collect
This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston website. The types of personal information collected at these pages are:
- Name
- Address
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Credit/Debit Card Information, etc.
On some pages, you can submit information for other people. For example, if you give a donation in honor of someone, you will need to submit the recipient’s address or email address. In this circumstance, the types of personal information collected are:
- Name
- Address
- Email Address
The Way We Use Information
We may also use your personal and non-personal information in the following ways:
- Entering your information into our databases for internal record keeping, reporting, and data analysis
- Communicating with you to obtain your input, provide information about our programs and events, or request contributions (provided you have opted to receive such communications)
- Improving our programs and services
- Customizing our website according to your interests
- Sharing information with limited third parties who help us manage our website and databases, and who assist us with our marketing efforts
- Sharing information with third parties as required by law, or a part of a legal process
Security
We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline. Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a closed lock icon at the bottom of your web browser, or looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the web page.
While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.
How to Opt-Out
You may opt-out of our information sharing policy at anytime by selecting the appropriate opt-out box on our website or calling us at 713-533-4900.
Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please call us at 713-533-4900 or send us an email at [email protected].