Guest Blog: Apparo
Ingersoll Rand and Apparo Transform Men’s Shelter of Charlotte’s Functionality in Five Days
Massive scanning project allows the nonprofit to put more men in beds
At the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, each file represents someone’s life story. Over the course of five days, Ingersoll Rand volunteers and their family members, facilitated by Apparo, transformed Men’s Shelter of Charlotte’s functionality by digitizing 4,000 client files to improve the efficiency of Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, enabling men to receive quick assistance so that their stories include a warm bed and assistance. The project took shape after Ingersoll Rand initially offered to assist with selecting a scanner for the shelter, but quickly decided the company wanted to leave a greater impact in Charlotte.
“We cannot thank Ingersoll Rand and Apparo enough,” Liz Clasen-Kelly, Executive Director of Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, said. “We did not have the know-how, the time or the resources to handle a project of this magnitude. What would have taken our organization at least an entire year, Ingersoll Rand completed in five days. In our eyes this project is priceless because it saved us money and time, all while making Men’s Shelter of Charlotte much more efficient.”
The volunteers committed more than 450 hours toimplement the conversion of 150,000 pages and create the new platform, which has been customized for Men’s Shelter of Charlotte to facilitate access. The files are critically important because they contain information about the men served at the shelter. Each file is someone’s life story.
While the Ingersoll Rand volunteers were busy scanning, Apparo made sure the project remained within the new scope and was completed on time.
"Apparo facilitates skilled-based volunteer projects that bring together valuable expertise and resources from the corporate sectors to nonprofits in need,” said Kim Lanphear, CEO of Apparo. “The impact of this project on Men's Shelter of Charlotte is tremendous, and makes us incredibly proud."
In addition, the project resulted in an e-signature tool that decreases the time required for intake and getting men experiencing homeless from a cot to a bed.
“Men’s Shelter of Charlotte is a great organization with a long history of providing housing and shelter, a focus of Ingersoll Rand, in the Charlotte community for those who need it most. We are thankful that Apparo brought us together,” said Josh Van Dyke, Vice President for IT- Americas at Ingersoll Rand. “It was such a great project for us – our volunteers, who represented many different parts of the business, embraced the cause, selflessly gave of their time and demonstrated the Ingersoll Rand values of respect, teamwork, and innovation. In their own words, they enjoyed working together to give back to the local community and were honored to support such a worthwhile organization and purpose.”
This project recently received the Ingersoll Rand President’s Award for Inspiring Progress, which recognizes outstanding employee contributions in key areas of the company’s vision.
About Apparo:
Apparo, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, connects nonprofits and corporations in the Charlotte, N.C area, delivering technology solutions that multiply nonprofit effectiveness. Considered the go-to provider of technology strategy, implementation, consulting and support services for nonprofits, to date Apparo has served more than 425+ local nonprofits, providing them with $13.5 million worth of technology solutions. To learn more, visit apparo.org.
About Men’s Shelter of Charlotte
Men's Shelter of Charlotte’s mission is to provide safe emergency shelter while working to end homelessness for each man. The vision is to serve as a catalyst for systemic change to end homelessness in the community. Men’s Shelter of Charlotte’s accomplishes its mission through the Moving Forward, Moving Home program, summarized with the equation: Income +Housing + Support = An End to Homelessness. For more information, visit mensshelterofcharlotte.org