Q: Have you volunteered with VITA before?
Sunday: “This is my second tax season. I’ve done taxes as a CPA for a lot of years and I remember back when I was in college, VITA program was a part of WMU. When I finally came back to WMU as a faculty, it was on my radar to bring VITA back into the program and so we have recently started working with them (VITA). Today Alaina and I are here on site, but typically are doing our returns through VITA on campus remotely through the scan and go program.”
Alaina: “This is my first season. I found out about VITA through faculty at WMU and the program that they provide to us to learn and get real world experience and also give back to the community in Kalamazoo.”
Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to volunteer with VITA?
Sunday: “To someone who might be intimidated by taxes who wants to volunteer, I believe that the resources that the IRS provides and the VITA program provides to help volunteers be prepared. You don’t have to have a background working in banking or accounting or in any type of profession. You just have to have a desire to learn, a desire to help people.”
Alaina: “Coming into this as a rookie, it was definitely a requirement of curiosity, and that’s about it. The tax program is very straightforward. It’s intimidating, but is very easy to learn and there’s people to help you.”
Q: As a college student (Alaina), how has volunteering with VITA benefitted you?
Alaina: “I’m interviewing for jobs right now as I’m graduating in June, and a lot more employers are very aware of VITA. It’s an excellent resume booster as well as giving back to the community. I don’t know who doesn’t want to do that.”
Q: What does volunteering with VITA mean to you?
Sunday: “There’s a lot of people that just need a little bit of help and something like getting your taxes done can sound so scary that you don’t even know where to start. So just having people out there that are just normal individuals trying to help everybody else trying to help someone just gives people hope. I encourage people to look for VITA. It’s in all communities out there somewhere. It’s an IRS program, for those who need that assistance. It’s just nice to be able to help.”
Alaina: “I would add, politically, recently going from administration to administration, things are changing, tax codes are changing. That is confusing and intimidating in itself. You have to have the resources and curiosity and you’re pretty much good to go. We’re all in it together to help each other get it done right.”
