Fort Bend Hope:
A Good Neighbor within Its Community
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Fort Bend Hope is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, which arose from “a desire to create multi-generational change for the community by providing a hand up for those who need it and not merely a handout.” It began as a mission of Faith United Methodist one Wednesday morning in 2013. During bible study, the participants were inspired by God to “reach out within the ‘shadow of our steeple’ to the underserved community around us,” according to the Fort Bend Hope website.
At the time, though passionate about their mission, those in attendance weren’t sure what form their outreach would take. Discovering it was something that would take time. They knew what they wanted to do, but they weren’t sure about how to do it.
Their mission of creating multi-generational change by providing a helping hand took on various forms during the early years. It began with preparing backpacks filled with food for school-aged children to have on the weekend. It progressed from there to include in-school mentoring at Jackson Elementary School and an outdoor summer reading camp.
At that time, there was no name and no home for the group of concerned citizens offering their services to this worthy cause, so it held community meetings in local coffee shops. Members also canvassed the neighborhood to determine what the needs were and how best to meet them. Often, they were met with skepticism. Help had been promised by others, but it had failed to materialize. Undeterred, they pressed on determined to be different and to last. Gradually, their efforts became focused on education, determining that it is the greatest factor in impacting multi-generational change.
In March of 2017, a home was found for Fort Bend Hope, which had been formally incorporated as such in 2016. Thanks to a generous donor, an unoccupied restaurant was purchased and donated to the organization. After several months of renovation, Fort Bend Hope moved into its new home at 927 3rd Street in Rosenberg, Texas, in October of 2017.
The move was significant in more ways than one. It reinforced the previous commitment the group had made to itself and the community and it meant it was no longer a visitor in the community. It was now a permanent member of it with actual roots, and it wasn’t going anywhere.
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Many of the students the organization mentored at Jackson Elementary School came from homes where little or no English was spoken. It became clear that in order for parents to be involved in their child’s education, adult English classes were needed as well. This need was addressed by providing the parents of the students with English as a Second Language classes. To these adult programs, the group has added citizenship and GED classes. During the pandemic, it created a virtual learning center.
Fort Bend Hope has proven itself to be a good neighbor that is committed to its community. As the needs of the community grow and change, its services continue to grow and change with them. The one thing that remains steadfast is the mission to restore hope by empowering families through education.
CKW LUXE Magazine recently sat down with Adam Yates, the executive director of Fort Bend Hope, to talk about the organization, its mission, its programs, and what he envisions for its future.
Mario Diaz, KPRC Channel 2 journalist with
Adam Yates, Executive Director of Fort Bend Hope.
CKW LUXE: The mission of Fort Bend Hope is to “restore hope by empowering families through education.” The operative word here is “families.” What made your organization decide educating parents and their children was necessary to bring about positive change for the community?
Adam Yates: In any healthy community, the family is the bedrock unit. If you help the family, you are helping this generation and the next. You are addressing today and tomorrow. Both layers are important, though, if you wish to see sustainable change. The cycle of generational poverty isn’t broken overnight, but it is broken one student and one family at a time.
CKW: In your own words, please tell our readers what struggles Fort Bend Hope dealt with while it was getting started and during its early years.
AY: We faced a challenge in the beginning that is common to many organizations that are getting started: credibility. When we began, no one knew who we were and why we were doing what we were doing. That is not something you can rush, though, as you are really talking about trust: trust in Fort Bend Hope to deliver what it said it would; trust that Fort Bend Hope was going to be part of the community for the long term; and trust that Fort Bend Hope was here solely to see students succeed with no secondary motive. Those introductory years were very important to Fort Bend Hope, though, as it created a culture of trust between us and the community that is vital to what we do.
CKW: How has Fort Bend Hope evolved in the years since it found its permanent home?
AY: We have evolved by listening to our students. We have added GED classes, computer literacy classes, and nutrition classes because our students said this is needed. We have learned that walking beside our students and learning their goals and their dreams is the best way to help them realize both.
CKW: Can you elaborate on your after-school programs and summer reading camp program, and explain why they are important as extra-curricular learning tools?
AY: The after-school program and summer reading camp are generally for kids in elementary school. Our goal with the after-school program is to provide homework and reading help while also having fun extracurricular clubs for the kids to participate in.
Currently, we have art, drama, robotics, and cooking. It is a lot of fun. The summer reading camp has reading at its heart, but we supplement it with fun activities every day. As an example, last summer, the Houston Downtown Aquarium came to us and led our kids through squid dissection. Space Center Houston joined us as well. The idea is to keep kids reading over the summer to prevent the loss of academic knowledge from the end of one school year to the next. We do both programs to help kids have the best opportunity for success in school.
CKW: How would you like to see Fort Bend Hope grow in the future?
AY: Fort Bend Hope is expanding into the next-door building soon with renovations set to begin early next year. I want to see us fill that space with learning and happiness, so we can help more students become the best versions of themselves, which is what all of them really want if you get down to it.