Elms Students Provide Free Tax Assistance

Friday, February 12, 2010

Nineteen Elms College students are volunteering their time this tax season to help people prepare and file their income taxes. This is the fifth consecutive year Elms students have participated in the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, having passed the IRS basic and intermediate tax preparation exam.

Senior accounting major Nicole Denette of Chicopee was a VITA volunteer as a junior and is coordinating this year's effort. "It's a great way to get to know people and give back to my community," she says, "and I like learning about taxes."

The VITA program offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income people who cannot prepare their own tax returns. Certified volunteers sponsored by various organizations receive training to help prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country. Elms students are volunteering at two sites in Chicopee and one in Holyoke.

In Chicopee, the main location is at 35 Mt. Carmel Ave. The hours are Mondays, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays 8 a.m. to 12 noon, and Saturday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. People are advised to call ahead and make an appointment, as the program has been "very busy" to date, says Denette. "We're handling 30 to 40 returns during each session, and most of them take a good deal of time."

A second site in Chicopee is the community building at 68 Eastern Drive, open Wednesdays only from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.