Beeville VITA IRS volunteers honored by CBC

Headline: Beeville VITA IRS volunteers honored by CBC

This tax season, students and faculty from the Coastal Bend College (CBC) Beeville campus participated in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program. CBC’s participation in the tax preparation programs provided members of the community and surrounding areas with free tax preparation assistance services.

The free programs took place at CBC Beeville beginning Tuesday, January 19 and ended Friday, April 15. Volunteers included accounting/business technology students, accounting/business technology faculty, and members of the community.

Students who volunteered were recently honored on April 29 at an appreciation banquet. Volunteers honored include:

Laura Alonzo- 20 hours

Christi Doria- 63 hours

Ashley Duran- 23 hours

April Garcia- 71 hours

Crystal Gonzales- 46 hours

Gracie Gonzales- 8 hours

Rafael Hinojosa- 48 hours

Lori Kalisek- 16 hours

Tammy Kerr- 8 hours

Mary Jane Luther- 222 hours

Annaliese Richardson- 16 hours

Jazmine Rodriguez- 67 hours

Amanda Steele- 25 hours

Michelle Thompson- 16 hours

VITA/TCE Site Coordinator, Janet Westlund- 191 hours

Sylvia Ann Wynn- 32 hours

Priscilla Zuniga- 50 hours

In addition, faculty and staff from CBC Beeville also assisted with the program. The faculty and staff who participated in the programs include: CBC’s Director of Distance Learning Yolanda Abrigo- 22 hours; CBC’s Associate Professor of Accounting Lupita Ramirez- 100 hours; and CBC’s Professor of Drafting & Design Jack Young- 14 hours. Volunteers who assisted in the free tax preparation services programs processed a total of 90 electronic tax returns yielding $134,687 in refunds.

Individuals were required to successfully complete a rigorous training provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) before volunteering with the programs. Services that were provided to community members free of charge include free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing, explanation of tax credits/deductions, and answering basic tax return questions.

Members of the community and surrounding areas who utilized the VITA program’s services include individuals with an annual income of $54,000 or less, individuals with disabilities and individuals who speak limited English. Tax preparation services were also provided to individuals 60 years of age or older through the TCE program. This program specializes in providing individuals with information about pensions and retirement.

For more information about CBC’s accounting and business technology program, please visit the College’s official website at www.coastalbend.edu/busadmin/.