Volunteers Needed for Income Tax Assistance Program

Information submitted by City of Fremont:

Looking for a different kind of volunteer work? Interested in helping your community? Consider volunteering to help low- to moderate-income families and individuals file their income taxes for the 2016 tax season.

The Fremont Family Resource Center’s (FRC) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program is recruiting volunteers for the 2016 tax season. FRC VITA prepares income tax returns and e-files them for low- to moderate-income individuals and families at no cost. In many cases, tax refunds are their lifeline. Not only does the VITA Program provide tax preparation services, VITA volunteers also connect families to important services such as CalFresh benefits, financial coaching, asset building programs, financial education workshops, and referrals to other valuable programs available at the FRC.

Here are 10 reasons why you should consider becoming a VITA volunteer:

1. Participating in VITA means being an active part of rejuvenating your local economy. By helping provide free and quality tax return preparation to those who cannot normally afford it, we ensure that taxpayers claim their Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit that can be up to $6,242 for a family with three qualifying children. Last year, the FRC VITA Program filed 2,636 tax returns, resulting in $3.7 million in claimed refunds and credits. Much of this money is spent within the community, thereby boosting the local economy.

2. VITA volunteer hours are extremely flexible. VITA volunteers generally serve 3 to 5 hours a week from January 2016 to April 2016. We offer day and evening hours, weekdays, and Saturdays.

3. VITA sites are available at multiple locations around Alameda County. Locally, volunteers can find opportunities at the Fremont Family Resource Center, the New Haven Adult School in Union City, the Tri-Cities One-Stop Career Center at the Ohlone College Newark campus, and at Tri-Cities Volunteers, making it easy to get involved.

4. Put your language skills to use. VITA is looking for bilingual Spanish, Farsi, Punjabi, and American Sign Language volunteers to serve as interpreters within our diverse and varied community.

5. Build your resume. VITA volunteers learn valuable skills and work with a wide variety of organizations. In addition, studies show that volunteering increases important employable skill sets, including time management, teamwork, and professional job skills.

6. There are many different volunteering opportunities, depending on your interests. We are looking for translators, greeters, screeners, financial advocates, and tax preparers.

7. Volunteering, like meditation, exercise, and sleep, lowers stress. Seventy-eight percent of people who volunteered in the last month said that it significantly lowered their stress levels.

8. Volunteering makes you happy. Ninety-six percent of volunteers say it enriches their sense of purpose in life, and 94 percent said it radically improves their overall mood.

9. Volunteering keeps you involved with your community. Not only do you create life-long friendships with a wide and diverse group of people, but 81 percent of volunteers said the experience strengthened their relationships with their colleagues.

10. Lastly, volunteering keeps you physically healthy. More than three-fourths of volunteers say it has affected their physical health, and those who volunteered for a year or longer said their health has noticeably improved over the last year.

If you are interested in becoming a VITA volunteer, then attend the VITA Volunteer Information Meeting on Wednesday, November 18 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Pacific Conference Room at the Fremont Family Resource Center, 39155 Liberty Street – Building EFGH in Fremont.

For more information, contact VITA Site Coordinator Harriet Commons at hcommons@fremont.gov or 510-574-2019.

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