(Para leer en español, haga clic aquí) Translated by LUNA Language Services

When comparing the livability of a neighborhood, it’s easy to quickly get caught up in numbers — crime rate, school scores, home values, walkability scores … or miles to the nearest grocery store. House hunters are likely to carefully compare these ratings, knowing that it can impact the quality of their family’s lives after a move.

However, many residents in some of the city’s most impoverished communities can’t make those types of choices. With a significant number challenged by limited financial resources, moving isn’t an option.

Jeffrey A. Johnson, Sr., is intimately familiar with one of those neighborhoods — the Arlington Woods community, which is located in the 46218 ZIP code — an area that has been blighted by high crime rates, high rates of unemployment, high student dropout rates and, more recently, high rates of COVID-19 infection.

Johnson, who grew up in this neighborhood before going off to college, returned at the age of 24 to become the pastor of Eastern Star Church (ESC), which has three campuses, including its Main Campus at 5750 E. 30th St., in the heart of the 46218 community.

Under Johnson’s 33-year leadership, the church continually invested in the community through a food pantry, affordable apartment housing, financial investments in local schools, health fairs, volunteering, mentoring and other programs. In 2017, Johnson joined members of ESC in announcing the launch of The ROCK Initiative, a more comprehensive plan for investing in the community. The ROCK Initiative is built on four pillars — affordable housing, strong community, quality education and financial security.

As part of Phase I, the church renovated and built single-family homes, developed an urban garden, and constructed a multi-use complex with 25 apartment units and retail space occupied by a credit union, a grocery store and social service providers. The initiative received support from numerous community partners, including INHP, Habitat for Humanity, The Mind Trust, Financial Health Federal Credit Union, Community Health, and Eskenazi Health.

Today, it announced another major phase in accomplishing its vision for a transformed community — the development of the ROCK Community Center for Children and Youth, a 60,000-square-foot facility that will provide students a safe environment to study, learn new skills, and engage in recreational and developmental activities.

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With nearly 42% of the American workforce continuing to work remotely, you’ve undoubtedly had firsthand experience with an unreliable home connection, or tried connecting with a peer who has had challenges. A normally fine broadband connection can suddenly come to a grinding halt when family members and neighbors all sign on for remote work and school.

The easy solution? Higher speeds and more bandwidth. Unfortunately, that is not always available. The best alternative? A dedicated hotspot. 

While mobile hotspots work great in a pinch to provide connectivity when and where you need it, a dedicated hotspot device can offer even more capability — allowing you to tap into organizational resources via a VPN pass-through, and options that enable users to block devices and “whitelist” media access control (MAC) for added security. Additionally, it allows you to make calls and use the data connection on your phone without draining its battery as a hotspot.

The Skyroam Solis (to leverage AT&T and T-Mobile networks) and Verizon JetPack are two great examples of a dedicated device that will ensure your team never experiences a glitchy, lagging Zoom call again.

An IBM Survey found that 53% of remote workers are on a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, using their personal devices for work. However, about 61% of respondents say their employer provided no tools on how to properly secure those devices. The use of personal devices for work puts your organization’s data at risk of cyber-attack.

Implementing a security infrastructure, such as a VPN or gateway is the best investment your organization can make to ensure the safety and security of your technology.

Solutions like Microsoft’s RDS/Published Apps, Citrix, or AWS’ App Stream, enable organizations to allow their employees remote and secure access to their infrastructure’s resources. By tapping into their physical office PCs, employees have access to all the applications, data and resources they need to do their work — eliminating the need for any other virtual desktops/applications to accommodate teleworking. Virtualized Remote Access can provide aa safe, secure option for all.

Employee retention credit: A guide for nonprofit & higher education leaders webinar on March 18 at 2 p.m. Learn the criteria an organization must meet to qualify for the ERC. Presented by BKD. Cost: Free. Register

Creating space for critical conversations on March 18 at 10 a.m. Become empowered with skills necessary to have critical conversations with people around issues of values-based importance, including how to address hate language and bias. Presented by Peace Learning Center. Cost: $35. Register

Planning for a successful campaign webinar on March 23 at noon. The session will address various topics, including how to ensure a successful campaign in a new environment and how to plan for effective campaigns in advance. Presented by Johnson Grossnickle & Associates. Cost: Free. Register

Life beyond COVID-19: Nonprofit strategies to survive & move forward webinar on March 25 at 2 p.m. This webinar will review how nonprofits have been affected by the global crisis, what they’ve done to stay strong, and what they're doing now to help restore communities. Presented by BKD. Cost: Free. Register

Starting a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on Mar 27 at 7 p.m. will help you assess whether starting a nonprofit is right for you. Presented by Indiana Legal Services. Cost: Free. Learn more

How to build an individual giving program webinar on April 1 at 7 p.m. Understand the current fundraising environment and how to overcome your fears with individual giving programs. Presented by CFRE. Cost: Free. Register

Developing an effective board of directors webinar on April 3 at 7:00 p.m. Understand the basic responsibilities of nonprofit boards and identify methods for improving board effectiveness. Presented by Falicia Brewer as part of an Indianapolis Public Library program. Cost: Free. Register

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