Computer Technology Upgrade and Expansion Project

Organization Information:

Organization Name:
Before & After School Child Care on Location, Inc (AKA: BASCOL, Inc.)
City & State:
Liverpool, 
New York
Organization Website:
http://www.bascol.org
Organization's Mission Statement

To provide: 1.Quality licensed, supervised out of school time programs for children, Pre-K through age 13 years, regardless of race, creed, nationality, sex or family income. 2. A nurturing family atmosphere of mutual respect, cooperation & understanding that addresses each child’s unique physical, social, emotional & intellectual needs. 3. An atmosphere that encourages children to pursue their interests, develop friendships, increase confidence, independence, respect for others and promotes potential and self-esteem.

Submission Information

Impact Essay

Description: The Before & After School Childcare on Location Inc. AKA BASCOL Inc. is incorporated is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization and has been in operation since 1992. The organization currently provides before, after and summer school age programs for approximately 800 children, ages, Pre-K thru age 13 years, at 14 school locations, serving 5 school districts. BASCOL, Inc has a staff of 77 full and part time employees and an operating budget of 1.5 million. BASCOL Inc. is licensed through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to provide school age child care programs. Each program provides supervision, recreation, socialization, academic enrichment programs, arts and crafts, creative play, cooking projects, physical and other age appropriate activities. BASCOL Inc. provides services for many communities that represent a broad range of cultural and economic diversity. Programs are funded through parent fees, New York Department of Social Services subsidy for low income families, small community grants and donations.

PROGRAM BENEFITS: The diversity, quality and variety of the activities we offerThe quality of our professional staffThe positive, nurturing environment we createPeace of mind and convenience for parents.

OUR HISTORY AND GROWTH:

1989 - A small group of parents without access to quality child care for their school age children met to address the need. A needs and feasibility study confirmed an urgent need for such a program. A task force of parents and representatives from the Liverpool school district conducted further research and developed a proposal for BASCOL.

1992 -BASCOL was incorporated as a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization. The first pilot program opened in Liverpool in September with thirteen children enrolled. Two additional Liverpool Elementary sites opened.

1995 - BASCOL opened in all 11 Liverpool Elementary Schools. BASCOL also opened a program in the West Genesee School District.

1997 - BASCOL opened its first summer program, providing full-day care for 9 weeks throughout the summer at 2 locations in Onondaga County.

2001 - BASCOL opened in the Westhill School District.2002 - BASCOL opened in Most Holy Rosary in Syracuse and began serving Pre-K children.

2006 - BASCOL began serving Half Day Kindergarten children and opened a Pre-K out of school time program in Syracuse.

BASCOL, as an organization, was becoming increasingly limited by an outdated server, computer operating systems, software and a general lack of technology to support further operational expansion and efficiency. This was preventing us from collecting and using information to project financial, service, and marketing needs / potential. The lack of access to current technology was also preventing our program staff from utilizing many of the more advanced and creative resources that could be incorporated to further enhance our program content and maintain our standards for high quality and best program practices.

We began to look for available resources to improve our situation, and in the fall of 2007, our search brought us to the wonderful resources that TechSoup has available. Through TechSoup we were able to obtain donated Microsoft products, technology and necessary training at a “price” that otherwise would have been financially well beyond our reach. With the products we received, we were able to completely upgrade our server, individual computer operating systems and add the availability of remote and wireless access. We were also able to upgrade an additional six donated computers and have these available to our program staff for internet resources search, writing newsletters and other parent correspondence, development of new programming resources, storage of valuable information and to develop a resource library that they can access and continue to update with new ideas and information.

All of our computers now operate on Windows XP and we are now learning to utilize all the Microsoft Office 2007 programs. These programs have enabled us to explore possibilities, experiment and continue to develop new ways to use the technology in different and creative ways. We continue to learn. The training and technical support we receive enables us to get past the problems that, in the past, would have discouraged us.

We have become much more efficient and are now able to project and manipulate information to help us make more informed decisions and projections, financially and programmatically. This ability has become crucial as current economic conditions have begun to impact the organization. We are relying more and more on our website, the internet, radio and TV to market our organization, mission, programs and to seek community support and identify areas where additional service initiatives are needed.

We have provided only a few samples of the numerous uses we have made of the new donated Microsoft products we have received. These resources have enabled us to make a very essential jump to a new performance level and will continue to increase our potential and creativity well into the future.

Submission Category
Transformations to Maximize Impact