We're building stronger communities through innovative partnerships.
Volunteers of America strengthens community life through a variety of community programs that provide a safety net for individuals and families who are at risk of homelessness, hunger, and other life crises. These services include seasonal giving and community events, thrift stores, the Scholastic Book Grants Program and collaboration within the faith community. A wide range of special events and services including holiday meals and gift giving programs are also provided.
CA$H Coalition Helps Families File Taxes
BRUNSWICK, ME. — For the fourth year in a row, volunteers trained by the Midcoast CA$H Coalition and certified with the IRS stepped in to prepare free tax returns for low- to moderate-income families in midcoast Maine.
The Coalition (“CA$H” stands for Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) aimed to help families get their taxes filed, take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit—worth up to $5,657 in credits for a married couple with three children—and maximize refunds.
According to Coalition site coordinator Sharon Ross, volunteers prepared more than 300 tax returns that are expected to give back to the local economy about $620,000 worth of federal tax refunds. The Coalition is part of CASH Maine, a statewide coalition that is fiscally managed by Volunteers of America.
“It’s a great, low-cost program,” adds Ross. “It leverages our volunteers’ generosity and skill into a lot of money—and a little shelter from the storms of life—for Maine families. It also brings money directly to businesses in the community.”
The CA$H Coalition was launched with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Weed & Seed Program and is supported by a wide range of remarkable volunteers and partners. Bowdoin College senior Elaine Tsai, a 2009 Coalition volunteer, recruited fellow students this year, of whom 15 served as tax preparers in 2010. (For her work, Tsai has just been given the Heart and Soul Award of the Maine Campus Compact, an alliance of 18 member campuses aiming to reinvigorate the public purposes and civic mission of higher education.)
Downeast Energy & Building Supply of Brunswick volunteered to make appointments for tax preparation with client individuals and families. And Bowdoin College, Fort Andross of Brunswick and University College of Bath donated space for the Coalition’s field operations. Casey Family Services of Portland and KeyBank Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio, both long-time partners, provided funding and volunteer committee staffers.
Want to volunteer for next year? The IRS-certified training is free. To learn more, please visit www.voanne.org.
We're building stronger communities through innovative partnerships.
Volunteers of America strengthens community life through a variety of community programs that provide a safety net for individuals and families who are at risk of homelessness, hunger, and other life crises. These services include seasonal giving and community events, thrift stores, the Scholastic Book Grants Program and collaboration within the faith community. A wide range of special events and services including holiday meals and gift giving programs are also provided.
CA$H Coalition Helps Families File Taxes
BRUNSWICK, ME. — For the fourth year in a row, volunteers trained by the Midcoast CA$H Coalition and certified with the IRS stepped in to prepare free tax returns for low- to moderate-income families in midcoast Maine.
The Coalition (“CA$H” stands for Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) aimed to help families get their taxes filed, take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit—worth up to $5,657 in credits for a married couple with three children—and maximize refunds.
According to Coalition site coordinator Sharon Ross, volunteers prepared more than 300 tax returns that are expected to give back to the local economy about $620,000 worth of federal tax refunds. The Coalition is part of CASH Maine, a statewide coalition that is fiscally managed by Volunteers of America.
“It’s a great, low-cost program,” adds Ross. “It leverages our volunteers’ generosity and skill into a lot of money—and a little shelter from the storms of life—for Maine families. It also brings money directly to businesses in the community.”
The CA$H Coalition was launched with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Weed & Seed Program and is supported by a wide range of remarkable volunteers and partners. Bowdoin College senior Elaine Tsai, a 2009 Coalition volunteer, recruited fellow students this year, of whom 15 served as tax preparers in 2010. (For her work, Tsai has just been given the Heart and Soul Award of the Maine Campus Compact, an alliance of 18 member campuses aiming to reinvigorate the public purposes and civic mission of higher education.)
Downeast Energy & Building Supply of Brunswick volunteered to make appointments for tax preparation with client individuals and families. And Bowdoin College, Fort Andross of Brunswick and University College of Bath donated space for the Coalition’s field operations. Casey Family Services of Portland and KeyBank Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio, both long-time partners, provided funding and volunteer committee staffers.
Want to volunteer for next year? The IRS-certified training is free. To learn more, please visit www.voanne.org.