NWTC Service-Learning and Civic Engagement 2017-2018 | Seite 20

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT &
E N V I R O N M E N TA L P R O T E C T I O N
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VTA)
Preparing tax returns for
low-income families.
Each spring, Accounting program
students enrolled in Computerized
Tax and Career Experience
complete an IRS certification
process and serve as Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
volunteers at the Marinette and
Green Bay campuses. The student
work diligently from mid-January
through February to prepare
as many returns as possible for
families throughout the district.
In recent years, students in the
Administrative Professional and
Office Assistant programs have
joined in by serving as greeters
and scheduling appointments.
VITA is an IRS-sponsored program
offering free tax help to people
with low to moderate incomes,
including the elderly, persons
with disabilities, and those
having limited English proficiency
who struggle to afford paid
professional assistance.
The VITA initiative seeks to ensure
low-income individuals receive the
19
full Earned Income Tax Credit —
the federal government’s largest
anti-poverty program supporting
low-income to moderate-income
working families — and other
credits to which they are entitled.
The program also counteracts
predatory lending practices
and encourages long-term
financial planning with asset
building by offering financial
literacy information.
As part of their training, students
discuss misinterpretations of
people living in poverty. According
to the United Way Wisconsin
ALICE report, over a third of
Brown County households
struggle to afford the basic
necessities of housing, child
care, health care, food, and
transportation.
Not only do students practice
their technical skills and gain
cultural competencies, but
they also practice the NWTC
employability skills. David, a
student volunteer explains,
“Participating in the VITA program
gave me the opportunity to
develop a number of my soft skills.
When working with customers
I used my communication,
information gathering,
organizational, critical thinking
and problem-solving skills.”
He added, “When working with
the other volunteers I used my
communication and teamwork
skills. We all worked well together
and helped each other whenever
possible. All while having a positive
and approachable attitude.”
In 2018, 20 NWTC students
assisted in preparing taxes at
2 sites in Northeast Wisconsin,
helping more than 476 families
claim more than $592,000 in
Federal Income Tax returns.
The students were also able
to help clients claim over