D and I were interested in finding some volunteer work, so, along with our friend Jeremy, we signed up with the Boston EITC Coalition. From the campaign's website:
Spearheaded by the Office of Mayor Thomas Menino, the Boston Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Coalition is a partnership of nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations that promote the economic independence of working individuals and families.Jeremy, D, and I volunteered as tax preparers and we completed our one day, 8-hour training session on February 7th. On the same day, all three of us took the IRS certification test online and passed it (as always happens, D got the highest score). We all signed up to volunteer at the Jewish Vocational Center on Winter Street, just off Boston Common. This past Thursday was our first day of actual tax prep work. Our tax site's coordinator, Nancy, told us our first day would be slow, with us observing a more experienced volunteer and then doing one or maybe two tax returns. Nope. The three of us were half of the location's staff and it was too busy to take it slow. Nancy told Jeremy and me to help a woman, figuring that two people who don't know what they're doing equal one great tax return. It actually went pretty well, and the woman we were helping was lovely. She had two kids and tried to write-off her son's iPod and PlayStation as educational expenses (her justification was that her son used the iPod at school). D was able to sit with a more experienced guy and soak it in a little bit better. I did two more returns and just that took me from 5:30pm until 8pm.
The Coalition's campaign to advocate for low and moderate income workers began in 2001, when free tax preparation services were provided to a few hundred residents. Now serving over 12,000 taxpayers each year, Coalition sites and volunteers have returned a total of $83.4 million in federal refunds to Boston families. The Coalition operates 25 free tax sites throughout Boston neighborhoods, some of which also provide additional financial services such as credit advising, financial coaching, and benefits enrollment.
None of the people I prepared a return for was born in the US. It's too awkward to ask someone where they're from, especially since you don't really need to know for the purposes of his or her taxes. I would say that I helped a woman from Turkey, a young guy from Southeast Asia, and an Indian student at UMass. The Indian student at UMass I know for sure, but I'm just guessing with the other two.
It was generally a very enjoyable experience. D had a problem with a guy who believed he was entitled to a much larger refund. He had a friend of his "do the math" and he knew he was supposed to be getting $1,000.00 back, or as he kept stubbornly referring to it, "a G-note." We volunteer on Thursdays and this will continue until April 15th. There's other work we could be doing for this program, but maybe by then we'll want to explore other options. It feels good to contribute though.
