Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) 2020 needs you!

Carthage faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) 2020 program, an experiential learning opportunity.  

VITA provides us all the opportunity to serve the local community while learning how to file taxes, build our networks, and improve communication/customer service skills in a friendly environment. 

We need greeters and runners as well as tax preparers at the VITA sites. Greeters and runners only have to complete the ethics training, while tax preparers need to complete additional training on tax preparation.   

Carthage students in all majors who participate as tax preparers can earn one credit for spring 2020 by enrolling in ACC 200A-01 and completing the requirements. 

All training can be done online. All participants will have access to a dedicated VITA 2020 Schoology group, in which detailed online self-paced training information will be available. 

Training/testing schedule at Carthage (computer lab 62 in the Straz Center) 

Basic training:

• Thursday, Jan. 9: 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 16: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Advances training and practice certification test:

• Thursday, Jan. 23: 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

Certification testing session:

• Thursday, Jan. 30: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Please note that advanced training includes the basic training. If you want to go for the advanced certification, you don’t have to attend the basic training session first. 

Snacks and/or pizza will be provided for the above-listed training sessions. 

If you cannot attend the training sessions at Carthage, you can go to the following on-site training options, offered through the United Way of Kenosha: 

KABA training room (second floor, Suite 210, 5500 6th Avenue)

Basic training:

• Saturday, Jan. 4: 8:30 a.m. – noon 

 Advanced training:

• Saturday, Jan. 4: 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Gateway Technical College (rooms A136 and A138, 3520 30th Ave., Kenosha) 

Basic training:

• Saturday, Jan. 11: 8:30 a.m. – noon

Advanced training:

• Saturday, Jan. 11: 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

To attend any of these sessions, please visit the United Way of Kenosha County website and click on the specific session you want to attend. Please make sure to click the “continue” button, otherwise your registration will not be submitted. 

Please bring your note pad, pen or pencil, and the printed training material to all training sessions. The KABA and Gateway locations may not have enough computers for everyone, so you may want to bring your own laptop to those sessions. 

Tax preparation location: 

Volunteering will be on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings in February and March at the Kenosha Job Center, 8600 Sheridan Road, Kenosha, WI 53143.  Details on transportation logistics are forthcoming. 

This year, volunteers may be able to work on returns at the Carthage campus in our own computer lab. More details to come. 

If you’re interested in training and volunteering but have not signed up yet, please send your name, email, and phone number to clau@carthage.edu.  

SPONSORING DEPARTMENT, OFFICE, OR ORGANIZATION:

Accounting and Finance Department

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Prof. Cassie Lau clau@carthage.edu Prof. Alex Lau alau@carthage.edu