State Street Foundation, the charitable arm of State Street Corp., has donated a $300,000 grant to Women’s Lunch Place for a new resource center.

The donation is part of a capital campaign, which is raising $2.5 million for the complete renovation of Women’s Lunch Place, a daytime shelter for Boston’s women.

The current resource center is a full-service office environment that provides access to internet, telephones, personal voicemail, faxing, office supplies and reference materials, among other resources. Staff can help guests find employment, housing, healthcare and referrals to other agencies. In 2008-2009, the space hosted a pilot job readiness initiative, "Breaking the Barriers to Employment."

With State Street’s grant come a number of changes to the resource center. The number of desktop computers will double from three to six and 12 new laptops will enable group instruction in computer literacy classes. Most importantly, increased space will allow Women’s Lunch Place to provide employment counseling, individual workspaces and assorted trainings with collaborators.

"With a bigger resource center, we can finally alleviate the bottleneck that prevented us from meeting guest demand," said Sharon Reilly, executive director of Women’s Lunch Place.

"At Women’s Lunch Place, women can rebuild their lives and get back on the path to success," said George A Russell Jr., president of the State Street Foundation. "We are proud to contribute to the renovation of the center and to helping more women get access to the resources they need."