United Way of Southwest Virginia 2017 Campaign Story VITA

United Way of Southwest Virginia | 2017 Campaign Story | VITA

Imagine a small home in one of the counties in far Southwest Virginia. In this home are an older retired couple, James and Connie (not their real names, but real people). For all their lives they were independent and hard-working. Then, a few years ago, Connie had a medical crisis that left her largely bed-bound and unable to walk more than a few yards without help. Connie has a hard time making it to her doctor’s office, much less able to get around well enough to go out and get her taxes done. And that is where the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program stepped in to help Connie and James.

What is VITA?

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is a nationwide program sponsored by the IRS that is available during tax season. Volunteers at VITA sites (operated by our regions’ community action agencies) provide free, basic in-person tax preparation services to hard-working families with moderate-to-low incomes.

A trained VITA volunteer went to James and Connie’s house to get all the papers needed to do their taxes. The volunteer took the information back to the VITA site and prepared James and Connie’s tax return. A second volunteer checked it over to make sure it was right. Then the first volunteer took the tax return back to James and Connie to look it over and sign it. Then the volunteer submitted it to the IRS. And all of this was done for free, saving James and Connie about $275 in fees and allowing them to use their return for medical expenses.

Connie said to tell the people who help provide donations for VITA, “I don’t know what we would do if you could not help us get our taxes prepared. We are so thankful for the VITA program.”

Free VITA tax preparation helps eligible families and individuals save, on average, about $200 per return. One VITA volunteer helped a small business owner save more than $400.

James and Connie are not alone. Last year almost 3,000 (2,933) people in Southwest Virginia got help from VITA volunteers. Thanks to your giving, people just like you who work hard and pay their taxes got to keep more of their hard-earned money.

VITA Partner Agencies:

People Inc Mountain CAP AppCAA Rooftop Clinch Valley Community Action