Waubonsee Community College’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program recently celebrated its 13 year of service to the community.
The volunteer effort assists low-income residents with their income taxes on nights and weekends during tax season at Waubonsee’s Aurora Downtown campus. Their work has returned millions of dollars back to the community while providing real world experience for students, and also helping the residents who seek the free tax services.
This year more than 900 clients were served by 47 volunteers.
The local effort is a partnership between Waubonsee and the Center for Economic Progress (CEP), part of a nationwide Internal Revenue Service program. Similar sites are hosted around the country. VITA is supported by a Waubonsee course which provides students with a service learning opportunity while gaining college credit. The program also provides field experience for students in the Legal Interpreting program, as those students provide interpreting services for clients while earning credits toward their required field experience.