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About Us
Founder & Director
Marci Vinciguerra is a Friendswood High School Alumni. After graduation, she began her studies at Baylor University, transferred to Louisiana State University and earned a Bachelor of Interior Design. She is the President and Senior Designer of V Design, a small interior and event design firm in Friendswood, TX.
Over the years and different duty stations, Marci has worked with 11 different nonprofit organizations and served on the board of six. In addition to volunteering at the shelter, she has served as a Friendswood Mustang Booster Club representative the last four years.
She met LTjg AlDante Vinciguerra of Penns Grove, NJ when he was stationed in Galveston, Texas. They married in 1998, relocating 8 times. They returned to Friendswood in 2021 when Dante retired as a CAPT from the Coast Guard.
Marci and Dante have four children. Giavanna is a 2023 Friendswood High School graduate attending Southern Methodist University running cross country and track. Asia is a 2025 FHS graduate attending the University of Miami majoring in Engineering. Dominic and plays football and runs track. He will graduate from FHS in 2028 and Damian plays football and baseball and will graduate in 2032.
Marci was bound to fall in love with one of her foster animals. She adopted her now 125 pound Cane Corso, Sicilia “CiCi”, who loves visiting the shelter and participating in playgroups and assessments when needed. CiCi was a medical foster that needed to gain weight and in need of medical care. She and their cat Sashimi “Sashi”, a rescue from Miami, greet Marci every day when she comes home. They remind her how lucky we are to have the unconditional love of animals.
History
Briefly after moving back to Friendswood, Texas and into their new home, Marci witnessed a puppy being dumped at a dead end street in her neighborhood. Marci recovered the puppy and called the police department, where she was directed to animal control. An officer picked up the puppy, but Marci couldn’t stop thinking of the puppy and checked on him regularly the following days. Jackson became a staff and volunteer favorite. He needed to gain weight and needed a surgery for his back leg. Marci donated puppy food and treats for Jackson many times and on one of her deliveries, one of the animal control officers suggested she fill out an application and become a shelter volunteer. Marci has been a volunteer at the Friendswood Animal Shelter since 2021 and is currently the Lead Volunteer. She has fostered over 27 animals from the shelter, most of them being medical fosters.
Who Are We
Friendswood Animals Needs & Solutions (FANS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Texas state nonprofit based in Friendswood, Texas.
Goldie, a yellow lab, is the reason behind this nonprofit. Goldie arrived at the shelter in September 2022 severely underweight and with a mass the size of a cantaloupe. The medical plan was for her to gain 20 pounds, so she could undergo surgery to remove the mass. Marci fostered Goldie and she steadily gained weight. A month later, on the day of surgery, the medical staff realized she was pregnant. Goldie had complications delivering the puppies and needed an emergency c-section. She was able to come home a couple of days later, but she unfortunately crossed the rainbow bridge when the eight surviving puppies were less than two weeks old. Marci and her family bottle fed the puppies, cared for them until they were ready for adoption and found them all homes. Most of Goldie’s puppies reside in Friendswood and their parents update each other regularly.
FANS was formed with the idea to help the Friendswood Animal Shelter, by alleviating some of the financial costs of emergency medical care and to provide small comforts for the animals in residence.
Where We Are
We are comprising a list of needs and solutions for our shelter. Immediate items include, special diet food, wet puppy and kitten food, treats, enrichment games, toys, beds, and small and larger fleece blankets. Long term projects include, a third play yard for the dogs, a shade canopy for the play yards, a privacy fence separating the outdoor kennels to the play yards, acoustic panels to help lessen the interior noise, and an interior sound system to play music for the animals. .
How We Do It
We will only be successful with the support of our community in partnership with its shelter. You can find us at most city events. Please volunteer, foster, adopt, donate and share our mission.