Fremont Family Resource Center in Need of Volunteers in Tri-City Area

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 2014 tax season.

The Fremont Family Resource Center’s (FRC) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is recruiting volunteers for the 2014 tax season. The VITAprogram falls under SparkPoint Fremont FRC, which is a one-stop financial center to help families become financially self-sufficient. FRC VITA preparesincome tax returns and e-files them for low- to moderate-income individuals at no cost. In many cases, tax refunds are their lifeline. Not only does the VITAProgram 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

Why you should consider becoming a VITA volunteer:

• 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, tax preparers ensure that taxpayers claim their maximum refund. Last year FRC VITA helped 2,711 families receive $3.9 million which helped boost the local economy.
• VITA Volunteer hours are extremely flexible. VITA volunteers generally serve 3 to 5 hours a week from January 2015 to April 2015. We offer day and evening hours, weekdays, and Saturdays.
• VITA sites are available at multiple locations around the county. Locally, volunteers can find opportunities at the Fremont Family Resource Center, the Union City and Newark libraries, Tri-Cities Volunteers, and Holly Community Center— making it easy to get involved.
• Put your language skills to use. VITA is looking for bilingual Spanish, Mandarin, Farsi, Punjabi, and American Sign Language volunteers to serve as interpreters within our diverse and varied community.
• Build your resume. VITA volunteers learn valuable skills and work with a wide variety of organizations. Further, studies show that volunteering increases important employable skill sets including time management, teamwork, and professional job skills.
• There are many different volunteering opportunities, depending on your interests. We are looking for translators, VITA assistants, screeners, ambassadors, and tax preparers.

If you are interested in becoming a VITA volunteer with the largest VITA tax site in Alameda County, please attend one of the VITA Volunteer Information Meetings on Wednesday, October 8 or October 22, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Pacific Conference Room located at the Fremont Family Resource Center, 39155 Liberty Street – Building EFGH in Fremont.

For more information or to RSVP for the VITA Volunteer Information Meeting, please contact VITA Coordinator Carolyn Robertson at 510-574-2020 orcrobertson@fremont.gov.

VITA services will start in January 2015. For more information, visitwww.Fremont.gov/SparkpointFRC.

—Information, photo submitted by City of Fremont