Why Volunteer?
How Some LIVE UNITED During Tax Season
by Rachel Doty
April 2010
Few people enjoy doing their own taxes, so it takes a very special person to volunteer to do somebody else's. On a series of Wednesdays from late January through early April, though, a dedicated group of volunteers do just that. For the past four years, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) and United Way of Windham County (UWWC) have collaborated on the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Last year alone, they helped more than two hundred residents of Windham County to secure approximately $145,000 in refunds.
VITA not only allows eligible Windham County residents to file their returns without spending money on tax preparation services, but also to access increased tax refund dollars through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). It is estimated by the IRS that four million eligible individuals annually fail to file for tax credits, forfeiting $2.9 billion in tax refunds. VITA benefits the community at large as well; increased access to funds allows for more dollars to be spent at area businesses.
Each year, UWWC/SEVCA VITA volunteers must successfully complete training and pass a test before being authorized to prepare taxes. During the 2009 tax season, thirteen volunteers were trained and certified to help. Volunteer tax preparers spend at least four hours a week for ten weeks helping their fellow community members at sites in Brattleboro and Westminster. What compels people to volunteer for this program? We thought we'd ask some of the volunteers at the Brattleboro site to find out.
Sue Sherlock, of Brattleboro, has been a volunteer for all four of the years that VITA has been a joint UWWC and SEVCA program. Her financial background and affiliation with the United Way (she's our bookkeeper) make the program a good fit for her. On a personal level, Sue said that she finds the work “fun,” and that volunteering is easy when clients are so appreciative. “It is nice to help people,” she said, “especially because taxes can be complicated, and it can be so costly to have them done.” Further, the VITA training helps keep Sue up to date on what is happening with the tax code, which is important for her job.
John Sommer, of Dummerston, is recently retired from a career in international development and education exchange, and was at SIT for over eighteen years. Two years ago, just after he retired, he served on a United Way allocations team and later heard that volunteers were needed for the VITA program. “I figured that I'd been doing my own taxes for so many years, this would be a breeze. I was wrong!” he said wryly. There are a great number of potential tax credits and rebates for low income filers, and volunteers must be familiar with all of them. John was soon up to speed, though. “The training is great, and the computer program, TaxWise, is excellent, too,” John said. Further, newer volunteers have access to very experienced people on site, with whom they can confer if a question arises.
Sandy Rouse, of Newfane, has been a VITA volunteer for three years. A pension plan manager and small business owner in the past, she was recruited by former Executive Director Konstantin von Krusenstiern to help in the VITA program. She said that she enjoys leading “people out of the wilderness of tax forms,” which can be complex and confusing. The EITC form, which can bring some much needed money into the hands of low income filers, is “not something you'd want to fill out without software, as it involves a lot of calculation,” Sandy said. She has seen repeat clients in her time as a volunteer tax preparer, and cites the downtown Brattleboro location as a real plus “because residents of the downtown area,” many of whom do not have cars, “can easily come on foot.” “People are so grateful,” said Sandy, and the service is so necessary, that she'll be back volunteering again next year.
In fact, every volunteer interviewed for this article said that he or she will probably volunteer again next year. Margaret Greene, who retired to Dummerston from Connecticut, is a committed VITA volunteer. Years ago, when she was an accountant at Aetna, she was looking for a volunteer opportunity, and decided to complete the VITA training. Before she knew it, she was “at a site, running things!” she said. That was over twenty years ago. Margaret places such value on the program that she now volunteers in both Vermont and Connecticut. “I enjoy helping people,” she said. “There's a lot of satisfaction in that. Of course, it's most fun when you get to tell [the clients] that they're getting money back!”
When Jon Neurock, born and raised in Brattleboro and now a resident of Winchester, NH, was younger, he had his taxes done by a friend through VITA. He was so impressed that while a college student at the University of Scranton, he decided to become a volunteer himself. Now the branch manager for the Brattleboro office of the River Valley Credit Union, he's been involved in the UWWC/SEVCA VITA program for the past two years, thanks to the encouragement of his colleague Lucy Decatur (who is now a UWWC board member). Jon enjoys using his expertise to save people money, and credits his employer with being extremely supportive of this volunteer endeavor, which takes up what would otherwise be work time on a Wednesday afternoon. The program, John said, “fits neatly into the Credit Union's mission” of fostering a strong community.
Lorie Cartwright, a local attorney, couldn't do what she does without the strong support of her employer, Fitts, Olson & Giddings, P.L.C. The training, as well as the client service, takes place during the work day, but that didn't stop Lorie's employer from actively encouraging her to volunteer. Lorie, who began her volunteer service last year, during the economic downturn, said that “it is very satisfying to help people.” Without the VITA program, she said, some members of our community would “not file, file inaccurately, or pay for a tax preparation service they can't really afford.” Lorie is appreciative that the United Way helps to bring this service to Windham County, and intends to make next year her third as a VITA volunteer.
Lisa Dixon, the Controller at The Brattleboro Retreat, and a resident of Hinsdale, NH, has volunteered in the VITA program for the past four years. She credits her employer with supporting her in this volunteer endeavor “right from the beginning.” For Lisa, deciding to volunteer was a snap; she “saw an ad, and said, ‘I can do that!’” Lisa feels “strongly about helping people with their taxes, because paying for tax preparation is prohibitive for many.” Further, she said, “the taxes we do are more complicated that I ever imagined they would be. Clients often have multiple jobs and sources of income, and sorting them out isn't always easy.” At the end of the day, though, Lisa said that she goes home very happy. “Everyone is so nice, and so grateful. There's great camaraderie among the volunteer preparers, and a real sense of community. We help one another,” she said.
Michael Hertz, of Brattleboro, an attorney and UWWC board member, also relishes the sense of fellowship among preparers. Michael, UWWC's VITA program coordinator, got involved four years ago, when his former wife, Andrea Livermore, was the Executive Director of the United Way of Windham County. “Now I can't quit!” he joked. Michael spends hundreds of hours each tax season making the program run smoothly. In addition to preparing tax returns for clients, Michael is responsible for training the volunteers, and for reviewing and electronically filing all of the returns from the Brattleboro and the Westminster sites. He finds the work fulfilling and personally gratifying, because, he said, “it feels good to do something for the community, and to really make a difference in someone's life.”
Helping neighbors
All of the volunteers interviewed cited helping a neighbor in need as one of their primary motivations for volunteering. John Sommer remembers a client from last year who had experienced a series of disheartening misfortunes, and was really down on her luck. When her taxes were done, and she learned that she would be getting a fairly substantial refund, she cried, and hugged the tax preparers. “We were able to give her a piece of good news at an otherwise very tough time in her life,” John said. What better way to LIVE UNITED?
If you are inspired to help, we’re always looking for individuals who are willing and able to commit to a minimum of one four-hour time slot per week during tax season. You need not have tax preparation experience, but must be committed to completing training and meeting certification requirements. If you think this volunteer opportunity is something you would like to learn more about, please e-mail Kate John at kate@unitedwaywindham.org or Carmen Derby at carmen@unitedwaywindham.org. You can also call the United Way of Windham County office at 257-4011.
