Charity of the Month

We will be hearing from Naomi Rijpstra speaking on behalf of Unbound Now, our Charity of the Month.

Naomi Rijpstra, LMSW is the Director of Programs for Unbound Now in Bryan College Station (BCS). In her current role she carries out the mission and vision of Unbound Now in BCS providing leadership for staff and overseeing BCS' programs including the Brazos Valley Human trafficking Task Force. Naomi received her Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Baylor. Naomi provides specialized training both within the organization for staff and externally for partner agencies. She was born and raised in The Netherlands and has worked as a Social Worker for over 12 years with different populations in different settings both abroad and in the states. Naomi is passionate about equipping the community so that they can help identify victims and foster healing and growth to survivors as she believes relationships are the agent of change. 

Unbound Now started around a kitchen table as ordinary people came together, overwhelmed by the crisis of human trafficking.

Coming face to face with exploitation in her own neighborhood, Susan Peters had a nagging feeling that just wouldn’t let her go – no longer could she or more importantly, any of us, sit on the sidelines of this issue. There was simply too great a need. And so she gathered the men and women around her around a kitchen table as they strategized how they could start first in their backyard.

What started as knocking on the doors of McLennan County, Texas law enforcement has transformed into multiple locations in the U.S. and around the world, with world-class human trafficking prevention training, youth empowerment, and survivor advocacy programs.

Since 2012, Unbound Now survivor advocates have had the honor of serving over 4,600 survivors of human trafficking. Behind this number we celebrate, is over 4,600 stories of freedom from bondage, beauty from ashes, and hope for tomorrow.

Unbound Now is a national nonprofit with 24/7 services across Texas and Louisiana. They are motivated by their faith and passionate about mobilizing communities, including local law enforcement, churches, and professionals across industries to identify and respond to human trafficking in their city.