Operations and defining operational excellence are complex and evolving topics. Development and operational enhancements are essential to delivering and improving the excellent hospitality Pallottine Renewal Center offers to guests from all over the United States. Appreciation of the unique value we provide to retreatants of all ages, faith and cultural backgrounds through upgrades to our infrastructure and equipment enables us to enhance and support effective programs and overall organizational strategy to keep current.
Operational Maintenance Fund
It’s About People, Not Technology.
Like millions of other nonprofits, 2020 was difficult for Pallottine Renewal Center. It was difficult for everyone. For most of us, once the first weeks/months of the pandemic passed, “shock” became “functional adaptation”.
As the proverbial adage states, It is through difficult times in our life, that we are challenged to grow.
By working together with our retreat leaders, we at PRC eventually adapted with flexibility to the demands Covid precautions imposed upon our usual routines. We learned solid lessons…..and we were reminded how interdependent we are.
We celebrate the fact that a PRC retreat/event offers an opportunity to unplug from day-to-day distractions. Our bedrooms have no televisions, our grounds are far from urban noises and most retreatants tend to give up their gadgets once they arrive. We create a space that gives individuals the freedom and blessing they need to truly disconnect and decompress.
However, in 2020 as we and our retreatants became reliant on video conferencing to connect, we began to realize that we were going to have to upgrade our digital capabilities to meet the need of the post-pandemic normal: a widespread embracement of hybrid communication as a standard option. Our experiences holding Zoom meetings and retreats demonstrated the need for ‘universal’ high-speed internet access. We had 21 wireless access points installed in order to run the latest superfast Wi-Fi in all areas of the campus and installed a new firewall as well.
Our December 2020 Handicapped Encounter Christ retreat was hybrid. There was a small group in person on campus and many others Zoomed in. Everyone was elated to be able to see each other, pray together, laugh, dance… even if only virtually. Michael Goad, a HEC retreatant who participated virtually this year, shared how grateful he was to have the capability to connect digitally. His family lives in other states and he usually travels several times a year to see them. In 2020 he was isolated, alone and unable to venture out of the house much at all. Yet with Zoom, he ‘saw’ his family more often than usual. Michael, like so many others are liberated by the accessibility and inclusivity digital communication brings.
Prioritizing a technology upgrade for us wasn’t easy;” Retreats are about ditching technology!” we cried. But in the end, we decided it is about people, not technology.
Additional campus enhancements include:
- Outdoor Security camera’s
- Bedroom renovations
- Furniture renovations
- Salad Bar and Steamer equipment for healthy and nutritious meals
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