BSC Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
Program Honored at Level Event

( Bluefield)—The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at Bluefield State College was recently honored at a “Volunteer Recognition Event,” at the State Capitol Complex. Professor William Goodman, who directs the program at BSC, received a Volunteer Recognition Award at the activity, which featured West Virginia’s “First Lady,” Gayle Manchin. Bluefield State College students and accounting faculty donated more than 700 hours and provided income tax preparation assistance for 321 area residents during the 2006 tax season. The VITA program at BSC's Bluefield campus provided tax help at the College and at selected sites throughout Mercer County.

The BSC VITA volunteers provided assistance throughout February, March, and April (through the April 17 filing deadline). "Volunteers alerted taxpayers to special credits and deductions including the earned income tax credit and child tax credit, helping them in the preparation of forms, answering questions, and providing additional information," noted Goodman, BSC Associate Professor of Accounting who has taken part in the program for the past 19 years. Students provided 465 hours of time to the project.

"Our students enjoy the satisfaction of helping others, and many people find this service very helpful because it provides a way to complete their returns in a fashion that's comfortable for them. These students worked very hard,” he continued. “All but one of them invested 50 hours of their time as a program volunteer. They also put classroom skills to work in a ‘real world' environment.” The VITA program has been offered through Bluefield State College for more than 20 years.

Other speakers at the Volunteer Recognition Event included Tricia Kingery (Statewide Earned Income Tax Credit outreach counselor), Margaret Waybright (commissioner, Office of Children & Public Policy/WV Division of Health and Human Services), Charlie Young (assistant commissioner, Office of Children & Public Policy/WV Division of Health and Human Services), Larry Beckett (president, WV Welfare Reform Coalition), and Melissa Aguillar (board member/WV Welfare Reform Coalition).

Goodman commended the BSC students taking part in this year’s VITA program. "These students worked hard and made a great contribution to the College's relations with the community," Goodman observed.

August 24, 2006