Technology upgrades will allow St. Francis Community Center to go wireless

Photo via Newsworks
The upgrades will allow employees to work from
anywhere within the building and even the county.

The St. Francis Community Center, a nonprofit organization located in Brant Beach that offers a wide variety of services and programs aimed at meeting the needs of Ocean County residents, is cutting the cord with old ways. The center will be upgrading its computer server as well as creating wireless access points within the parish and community center to enable employees to work from anywhere within the building as well as the county. The upgrade is being made possible with a $14,500 grant from the OceanFirst Foundation of Toms River.

“Our work environment is changing, and we must move forward if we are to continue to provide the best supportive services within Southern Ocean County,” said Connie Becraft, executive director of St. Francis. “The reality (is that) as a nonprofit organization we cannot afford to upgrade an entire system, and the system we have is unable to support wireless services.”

The current server is at the end of its life and can no longer be supported by Microsoft, Becraft noted. The grant should help offset IT expenses and keep administrative costs low.

“The new server will have better security, more performance and will help St. Francis Center stay current and keep up with mobile technology,” said Stacey Kelsall, comptroller.

Upgrades will allow employees to use on-the-go devices, she noted.

“With this funding, we will now be able to access information on our computers when working remotely in the community, allowing us to access web-based systems and faster Internet speeds,” said Lori Tomaro, director of family support.

The local community center was awarded the first OceanFirst Foundation grant in 1997. Since then, the foundation has awarded the center 20 grants totaling $413,674.

Since its inception, OceanFirst Foundation, which provides grants to organizations that meet community needs throughout central New Jersey, has contributed more than $25 million to over 600 local charities and schools in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.