Volunteer opportunity

Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC) is seeking community volunteers to provide free tax help to qualified individuals during the tax filing season.

Managed by the IRS, the VITA and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs are community based partnerships that provide free tax return preparation for low to moderate income taxpayers, seniors, people with disabilities and those with limited English skills. If you are looking for a way to help in your community, then consider becoming a tax volunteer. People helping people - it's that simple.

CADC schedules tax program orientation sessions periodically for new and potential volunteers in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) free tax assistance program. For dates, contact Jean Sorrells at 870-867-0151.

Here are 10 things CADC wants you to know about becoming a community volunteer for its free tax preparation program:

1. No previous experience is required. Volunteers receive specialized training and. if tax preparation is not preferable, have the option of serving in a variety of other roles. 

2. If you are fluent in a language other than English, you can help those who do not speak English understand their tax return.

3. CADC provides free tax law training and materials needed to prepare basic individual income tax returns. 

4. Volunteers become familiar with deductions, allowable expenses and credits that benefit eligible taxpayers, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for the Elderly. 

5. The hours are flexible. Volunteers generally serve an average of three to four hours per week from mid-January through the tax filing deadline, which is April 15, 2013. 

6. Volunteer sites are generally located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other convenient locations. 

7. Tax sites offer free electronic filing for both federal and state tax returns.

8. As a tax volunteer, veterans (and non-veterans alike) may choose to help military personnel and their families. 

9. Volunteers will become part of an established program that has helped community members file tax returns at no charge for more than four decades. 

10. You can make a difference as a tax volunteer.

In 2012, CADC helped over 2,900 persons file federal and state, saving over $438,000 in tax return preparation fees. Those customers received over $1.01 million in Earned Income Tax Credit and an additional $3.4 million in federal return dollars. CADC sponsors free tax sites in Clark, Pike, Montgomery, Saline, Hot Spring, Ouachita, Union, Columbia, Calhoun and Dallas Counties.

CADC is a nonprofit community action agency that was formed in 1965 to fight and win the “War on Poverty.” The mission of CADC is to improve the quality of life and build strong communities in Arkansas. For more information on becoming a tax volunteer, contact CADC at 870-867-0151.