Rockwood VITA Tax Aide Center Aids Residents
By Sarah Broderick, VITA Tax Aide Center Coordinator; and Cathy Sherick, Rockwood Weed and Seed Project Manager
This spring, Rockwood Weed and Seed in Gresham, OR, successfully filed more than 300 tax returns—worth more than $400,000 in federal and state refunds—free of charge for its residents. The site accomplished this through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) center—the Rockwood VITA Tax Aide center—which opened this past February.
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After receiving funding from CCDO to hire someone to set up and operate the center, Rockwood Weed and Seed received five computers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the purpose of providing a free tax preparation assistance program for two years. The VITA Tax Aide center also has the option of maintaining one computer throughout the year for ongoing tax work and allowing community members to use the computers during the eight months that are not tax season. At the end of two years, the computers will go to the sponsoring and partnering agencies who assisted with the VITA Tax Aide and computer center.
Rockwood's VITA Tax Aide effort began in early November, when the site hired Sarah Broderick to implement the center's operations. Broderick came to the program with an extensive background in community work, experience with new program development, and a genuine enthusiasm for the mission of the center. To start up the center, she had to set up the computers, undertake tax training, build partnerships, develop outreach materials, establish center hours, and recruit, train, and schedule volunteers. Broderick's extensive tax preparation training took several weeks to complete and was also required of all the tax assistance volunteers.
Partners included the local chapter of the Association of Retired Persons (AARP), IRS staff, the Police Activities League, several local nonprofit agencies, and Tax Aide of Oregon. These agencies helped Broderick set up the center and conduct community outreach.
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Because volunteers were required to run the center and perform all tax preparation, recruitment was Broderick's number-one priority. By late December, the VITA Tax Aide center had only a short list of volunteers, but Easter Seals soon informed the center that it knew two gentlemen who were interested in helping out. Adding these names to the slowly growing list of volunteers was a great end-of-the-year gift.
In late January, after spending every Saturday for a month in training, the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) participants were ready to start work with Rockwood Weed and Seed. Despite all the previous excitement over the SCSEP program, Broderick was concerned when she first met the gentlemen who had volunteered in December. One seemed to be a bit anxious, possibly dealing with some personal challenges, and he had no previous computer experience, yet he was slated to be one of the main tax preparers. The other volunteer had a surly demeanor and did not appear as though he would get along with others in the center. He was to be the greeter for the office, welcoming all clients and helping them sign in. Needless to say, Broderick thought these two personalities could present significant challenges when the center opened.
The center was open for the duration of tax season, from February 1 through April 17, and preparers were available Wednesday through Saturday. During that time, Rockwood VITA Tax Aide filed 315 federal returns, resulting in $349,745 worth of refunds.
By the time April 17 rolled around, everyone involved was thrilled with their accomplishments, but ready to be done with tax season. The VITA center owes much of its success to all the partners and volunteers, and to the SCSEP participants. The gentleman who had no previous computer experience quickly caught on. He not only learned how to use the tax preparation program efficiently, but also gained additional computer skills. Center volunteers translated tax information and questions for Russian- and Spanish-speaking clients, shared recipes, worked extra hours, and became a great team. The greeter shed his negative attitude and became a favorite of everyone in the office. He learned how to deal with all types of people coming to the center, and he managed the front office with precision, steadiness, and humor.
The five computer stations will remain at the Rockwood Community Office during the off season. One station will be dedicated to ongoing filing of tax returns and for other tax-related purposes in the community. The center will add three additional computers so that it can run computer classes, to be made available through its partners. Rockwood Weed and Seed staff will manage all the policies, schedules, staff, and volunteers that are required to operate the center.
For more information, contact:
Sarah Broderick
VITA Tax Aide Center Coordinator
Rockwood Weed and Seed Project Manager
503-816-1530
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