Van Outreach Helps Local Agency

Happy St. Patrick's Day Germantown!

The Community Action Mission Program invited the van team to historic Germantown, Ohio and we set up shop at the local library. While getting our gear together for the tax clinic--computers, printers etc. we chatted about our last visit to this fine town for the Germantown Pretzel Festival.

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Pam Mornneault, CAMP board secretary indicated that our visit with the van last year really got the word out about thier organization. They have since expanded food pantry , emergency (financial) and Ohio Benefit Bank services. CAMP is a volunteer run organization that represents several churches in order to meet the ever increasing needs of those who have fallen on hard times or are facing a crisis.

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They are a good example of the many wonderful organizations out there that give the gift of their time and resources to make the world a better place. Russ and I are lucky to get to rub elbows with folks like this.

On another note Germantown is also home to Cornhole.com. Yes you too can get your very own cornhole set. They do sport a fancy van like ours but I must admit I am still partial to our Mobile Express.

The Benefit Bank is Always Free. Unless...

The fifth section of The Benefit Bank terms and conditions is unambiguous. It is always free of charge. My colleagues and I feel very strongly that tax credits and work supports are something that our clients are legally entitled to. Charging them to claim what's theirs is a perversion of decency.

But come tax season some people really want to give us money.

While we're always appreciative of people offering tips, we don't accept them. The Mobile Team is a pillar of integrity. Yet some people even go as far to drop money on the floor and look the other way. That trick doesn't work on us. We are wily. But there are some clients who won't take "no" for an answer. One client put 15 bucks behind our wiper blades! We didn't notice until we were halfway home.

So what to do with 15 dollars of ill-gotten money? The best idea is to spend it on canned food and create a small emergency stash of food in our main office for clients in need. Another idea is to gamble it on the NCAA tournament and then donate the winnings to to the state to help with the budget crunch. Any other ideas?

VAN Wert

I make that VAN Wert joke literally every time I am in Western Ohio with the Mobile Express. No exceptions.

I mention Van Wert because we had another successful clinic there and the Northwest Regional Coordinator, Gayle Loyola, was nice enough to take a picture of four of the counselors (myself included).

Me, Erin, Lima VISTA Mary, Toledo VISTA Kylee

Uh, guys? What I am going to do about my hair? This is unacceptable. I look like Win Butler.

So it's still tax season and we remain busy, busy, busy. Last year, it was considered a great event if Erin and I had four clients each. This year, that's just par for the course. Even in underpopulated areas like Monroe County, our hands are full.

We're noticing that we're getting more and more sophisticated tax documents. The aforementioned Ms. Loyola told me that back in the day, tax forms didn't get much more complicated than multiple W-2s. Now we're seeing more and more interest, pensions, dividends, and other miscellaneous forms of income. We're reaching a wider swath of Ohio taxpayers and I couldn't be prouder.

Hypothesis: Since we're getting more and more people who aren't getting huge refunds, we are going to see more and more people who need to get their taxes done in late-March and April. We'll be ready.

When There are No Big Returns

Erin and I spent the day in Vinton County yesterday. The least populous county in the state is, like so many other counties in the state, dealing with high unemployment and poverty levels. Hopefully, Erin and I could help people complete their taxes for free and inject some capital into the state.

Except I did the opposite.

Erin and I had three clients each. I had two break even. Zero owed, zero back. My other client owed a little under $200. I went to one of the hardest hit counties in the state and took their money away from them.

Way to earn that salary, Russ.

Now, of course helping people complete their tax forms for free has an added benefit not included in the refund statistics, but, still. Yuck. Not as fun as helping a mom get a $10,000 return, ya know?