Kids Unlimited is always teeming with children, and managing all their activities requires technology that works right the first time. When the staff decided it was time to upgrade from a peer-to-peer network to a server to handle the main site’s 50 computers, they needed it done quickly. Kids Unlimited asked Core to install the server over spring break — with just one week’s notice — when the halls would be relatively calm and kid-free.
“They went into the project on a tight timeline to make it work for us,” said Jamie Kaufman, program director of Kids Unlimited. And despite a few bumps in the road, “the guys have been absolutely great,” she said. The project stretched from one week to nearly a month as the Core staff dug deeper into the network, but after much perseverance, Kids Unlimited ended up with a server solution and several additional services to safeguard their information and the kids they serve.
The Client: Kids Unlimited
Kids Unlimited is one of the largest nonprofits in the Rogue Valley, serving up to 1,000 kids in grades 1-8 each week. The center offers low-cost after-school programs at five sites, sports leagues, summer camps and special classes on the arts, leadership and entrepreneurship. At-risk kids benefit from mentoring programs and special outreach and intervention sessions. The main Kids Unlimited building, located in West Medford, is also home to an under-21 dance club and the Maslow Project, an outreach to homeless teens and families.
The Problem: Overloaded Network Creates Multiple Issues
What started as a small after-school tutoring program at one elementary school grew into the Kids Unlimited of today with five sites, a vast array of programs and 50 computers in their main building: 25 for staff and 25 in a computer lab for the kids. They were still using a peer-to-peer network, which meant all file sharing was done through e-mail, with no dedicated backup of data and no unified virus protection or Web filtering. Although the original project was just to install a new server, those problems had to be addressed along the way, and progress was slowed by duplicated data stored on multiple computers.
The Solution: New Server and Extra Safeguards Protect Network
With one week to prepare for a major server installation, the Core team immediately made plans to configure a small business server. Core took the initiative to work with TechSoup, a Web site providing technology at reduced cost to nonprofits, saving thousands of dollars over the course of the project compared to regular retail prices. To prevent kids from accessing inappropriate Web sites, Core installed a Web filtering solution that integrates with the active directory to allow different access privileges to adults with password-protected user accounts. The Kids Unlimited project also included a new operating system, switches and spam filtering software.
Core performed the installations under a discounted fixed fee rate for nonprofits, then set the center up with discounted monthly rates on Core’s most popular maintenance services, the CoreCARE proactive server agreement and CoreCONNECTED, an online backup solution to protect their data. Already, the new system and its ability to share files across the server has made an impact on Kids Unlimited’s efficiency, Kaufman said. “It’s really nice having on the server all the different groups we’ve created, so we can share documents. I love the ability to be able to share things and have people go get what they need and not have to ask someone else to go do it.”
The Result: Serving Kids without Sacrificing Network Safety
With a new server increasing capabilities and safeguards in place to prevent data loss and inappropriate Internet use, Kids Unlimited can now focus on what they do best—working with kids while their technology works for them. “We would do it all over again in a heartbeat,” Kaufman said. “Because the guys were so great, it made the process not as frustrating as it could have been… everybody has been amazingly wonderful to get things fixed as best as they can as soon as they can.”
