Lisa Marchi needed to work from home to continue supporting the children of the Boys and Girls Club. She has been with the Boys and Girls Club of Shelbyville since the beginning. Just a few months after it opened in 2011, she joined the team to work in administration.
Lisa wears many hats in her office, as is common in nonprofit work. She helps with incoming members, donations, social media, tracking attendance, writing thank-you letters, and more. You name it, Lisa does it. With such an important and varied role in the organization, Lisa needed the ability to continue her work from home.
The Boys and Girls Club of Shelbyville supports an average of 40 to 50 students per day, ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade. Students participate in a variety of activities within the program, such as arts and crafts, physical education, and computer science. The organization provides students with a broad range of interests to explore. Lisa’s role helps to facilitate the program’s operations and to keep the children engaged.
Evolving Roles Required Better Internet
As the Boys and Girls Club’s operations changed dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, the staff was asked to work from home to protect their health. Lisa lives in an area without strong options for internet service, so she wasn’t able to complete much of her work at home. Because the system that the organization uses is cloud-based, Lisa would sometimes even need to walk her coworkers through a process over the phone, slowing efficiency down significantly.
So many of Lisa’s daily tasks required the internet. It was vital that operations continue moving and that the organization continued communication with the students and supporters. Even without face-to-face time with students, the organization is still helping the children stay active and learning while at home. It was crucial for Lisa to have a reliable home internet connection so that she could continue helping her team.
Connecting with United Communications
United Communications’ Chief Customer Officer, Josh Lynch, serves on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club and knows what kind of an impact the organization has on local children’s lives. After hearing that Lisa did not have options for home internet because of where her house was located, Josh passed her story on to his team. As part of our Community Relief Plan, United Communications provided Lisa with the internet connection she needed—at no cost to her or the organization. “Their office is right down the street. So, when we were thinking of options, I thought that we would talk to Josh and see what we could do.”
Lisa can now stay connected to her team, students, and the organization’s supporters—all from her home with a reliable connection. “I would absolutely recommend United to anyone. They’ve all been great to work with,” added Lisa. As United Communications’ Customer Support Supervisor, Brad Bennett, said, “It’s all about helping our neighbors.” Our Community Relief Plan continues to help residents of Middle Tennessee stay connected, and we are grateful that we have the capacity to provide such support.
United Communications’ Community Relief Plan
United Communications is happy to support Lisa during this time as she works to help children in need. The Community Relief Plan is helping small businesses, nonprofits, and residents stay connected at a time when connection is especially crucial. To learn more about this program or to apply, please visit our Community Relief page.