Partners in Business and in Driving Social Change

This post was co-authored by Jill Crowley, Senior Manager of Cloud Architecture at Softchoice, and Kelly Carter, Cisco Canada’s Meraki Virtual Sales Leader.

A Longstanding Partnership

Cisco Canada and Softchoice have a history of partnership that spans many years. Beyond business, our relationship is rooted in a shared mission to drive meaningful change. With the common belief that doing good is good for business, our organizations prioritize supporting one another when opportunities for collaboration and community giveback arise.

One early effort is our work with Connected North, a program founded by Cisco and now operated by TakingITGlobal. Connected North uses best-in-class collaboration technology to deliver live, interactive learning experiences to students in remote communities, including Indigenous communities. Working together with an ecosystem of technology partners, including Cisco and Softchoice, Connected North now reaches more than 40,000 students across 200 schools.

Improving Delta Family Resource Centre’s Capabilities

Building on a relationship of giving back, Cisco Canada and Softchoice joined forces to support Delta Family Resource Centre, a grassroots, nonprofit, community-based agency providing essential services, including a food pantry and online computer access, to isolated communities in Northwest Toronto. Delta Family Resource Centre also partners with Cisco to offer web-based IT and AI courses, equipping young people with valuable, marketable skills.

Delta Family Resource Centre serves close to 11,000 clients annually. Twenty percent of their clients visit their community centers specifically to access the internet and online resources. “For many of our clients, internet access in their home is a luxury they cannot afford,” shares Kemi Jacobs, Executive Director at Delta Family Resource Centre. “Yet, it’s a resource that plays a vital role in accessing the government aid needed to help them keep a roof over their head and food on their table.”

Until recently, Delta Family Resource Centre had an outdated network, which was no longer stable or reliable, and posed a security risk. Through its Technology Grant Program, Cisco identified the required Cisco Meraki hardware and software needed to enhance Delta Family Resource Centre’s network and Softchoice led the design and implementation of the solution.

Configuring the Right Solution

Taking the time to understand the organization’s needs, the Softchoice project team designed and implemented a customized, secure, easy-to-administer network infrastructure across the nonprofit’s three locations. The project was delivered via Softchoice’s Charity Accelerator Program, and Cisco provided the Meraki hardware and software through its Technology Grant Program, all at no charge to Delta Family Resource Centre.

“We are excited to make our technology resources available to the Delta Family Resource Centre through our Charity Accelerator Program,” said Sean Denomey, Softchoice SVP of Services and the Charity Accelerator Program executive sponsor. “The program aids small nonprofits by providing them with technology consultants, pro bono, so they can focus their time on their missions. The work happening at Delta Family Resource Centre is centered around building an inclusive and engaging community, and was a very strong fit aligned to the type of charity organizations we support through our Charity Accelerator Program.”

Fostering an Improved Online Experience

The upgrade has been transformational for the nonprofit’s entire staff and clients. But it has been extra meaningful for Troy Reis, IT administrator at Delta Family Resource Centre. “These improvements have enabled me to transition from mobile tech support, regularly needing to fix outages at our three locations, to strategic advisor, implementing solutions that support our client’s needs,” says Troy.

Since the upgrade, Delta Family Resource Centre has experienced a considerable improvement in Wi-Fi reliability, with far fewer dropped meetings for the organization’s staff. Delta Family Resource Centre’s clients are also using the digital services more, so much so that the organization has had to implement a per-use time limit.

And, thanks to the responsiveness and expertise of Adam Genery, Sr. Consultant, Professional Services and Ryan Brown, Consultant, Professional Services, on Softchoice’s volunteer implementation team, outage resolutions are a quick phone call away. Perhaps more importantly, Delta Family Resource Centre now has enhanced online security, fostering a safer web-based environment for clients and staff.

“We’re so grateful for the products, services, and support we’ve received from Cisco and Softchoice,” says Kemi. “Because of their grant programs, our operations and services have literally been transformed.”

Are you interested in learning how your business can positively impact your community? Or do you have stories to share about ways your organization is giving back?

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