Charlotte Chapter     

We have 2 volunteer opportunities: 

1) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) - 2009 Winter Tax

     Season - February 1, 2009 to April 15, 2009

2) Junior Achievement - BizTown - Fall 2009 (dateTBD)

See below for additional detail

***Volunteer Opportunity***

In Fall of 2009, ALPFA Charlotte will be looking for volunteers for Junior Achievement (JA) – Biztown

On Thursday, November 13, 2008, ALPFA members volunteered and coached 4th graders from Shamrock Gardens elementary school as they went through the program.  It was a lot of fun!  We look forward to doing it again!  See below for additional detail regarding JA:

JA has a program called JA Biztown, where they bring in a school's entire 4th grade class, and these students get to experience a day in the life of a working adult in a community.  These kids have done some work at their schools to prep up for this day (i.e. apply for a job at the Biztown Bank, retail shop, newspaper, etc. and learn what the job entails).  When they come out to Biztown, the 4^th graders assume their roles and, in essence, make Biztown come alive (goods are manufactured, services are offered, business transactions take place). 

Our role is to guide these students as they assume their roles to ensure that they complete the assigned tasks and learn basic business concepts (like applying for and repaying a loan, working with checkbooks, etc).

This is where you can make a difference!! This is an excellent opportunity for ALPFA Professional and Student members to interact with students, including Latino kids, and encourage them to do well in school and to pursue careers in business.  Simply put, it’s a chance for us to serve as role models!

The time commitment is from 8:30 am to approximately 1:30 pm. 

If you are interested in volunteering in the spring (date not specified yet), please email me at dxgarcia76@yahoo.com .

If you want to learn more about this program, please visit the JA website at http://jacarolinas.org/jabiztown.html

Location: 201 South Tryon Street, Suite LL100 (for driving directions please click on link: http://jacarolinas.org/directions2.html

The JA BizTown Program Manager has communicated to me that we can do a short online training at the JA website noted above.  The volunteer schedule will be as follows:

BizTown Training: On your own, prior to volunteer date. (It’s really easy!)

BizTown Volunteer: 8:30am - 1:30/2pm

Look forward to volunteering with you!!!

Diana Garcia-Ramirez, ALPFA Charlotte - Chapter President

VOLUNTEERS IN TAX ASSISTANCE

(VITA) Program

Tax Season 2009

• In the spring of 2009, the Latin American Coalition will open a Volunteer Tax Assistance Site to serve Spanish speakers, lower income individuals, and senior citizens, through FREE tax preparation.

• Volunteers must complete a training facilitated by the IRS and pass a test to be certified volunteer tax preparers.

• The Coalition’s VITA site will be open only during tax season only (February to April, 2009), Thursdays 12-2pm, Saturdays 1-5pm, Sundays 1-5pm.

• This program is a collaborative effort among the Family Financial Literacy Coalition, the IRS, The Latin American Coalition, ALPFA, and community volunteers.

VOLUNTEER COMMITMENT

• Volunteer at least 2-4 Hrs/Week.

• Be available to volunteer during tax season 2009: February 1^st to April 15^th, 2009.

• You can choose the days and hours to volunteer, as your schedule allows it.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING SESSION

Volunteers must pass an online test.  The IRS provides a two session “Process Based In-Class Training” in order to prepare you for the test.  The training incorporates the tax law and tax software training. Volunteers may also utilize the online Practice Lab to practice using the software outside of class. 

DATES (volunteers should attend ONE session)

• Session 1:  Dec 13 and 20th (8:30am - 5:00pm)

OR

• Session 2:  Jan 10 and 17th (8:30am - 5:00pm)

TO REGISTER FOR INCLASS TRAINING:

Please contact:

Brenda D. Williams, Family Financial Literacy Coalition

Community Link

601 East 5th Street, Suite 220

brendaw@communitylink-nc.org

704-943-9635

If you feel comfortable doing tax returns, you can skip the in-class training and do the training online in your own home!  The IRS will provide an online Practice Lab to learn/practice the TaxWise software as well.  This service should be available in December 2008 at the IRS website. ALL volunteers will still have to go online to take the test for certification.

QUESTIONS

Maria del Pilar File-Muriel

Latin American Coalition

704-531-3843

filemuriel@latinamericancoalition.org