The United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties and Greenhouse Ministries recently reported that its partnership to provide VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites produced 346 total returns with a total refund amount of $492,000.
The VITA partnership provided free tax filing services to qualifying local residents (annual household incomes of $50,000 or less) that assisted those individuals in claiming their tax refund dollars. Sites were available in both Rutherford County and Cannon County.
While Greenhouse Ministries provided financial education services to those receiving VITA services, local banks also partnered with the program to offer assistance with financial management and account services. Participating banks included SunTrust Bank, Regions Bank, F&M Bank, Wilson Bank & Trust, FirstBank, MidSouth Bank and First Tennessee Bank.
The 34 volunteers that participated in the program underwent an intense training process and served in capacities such as tax preparation, screening and greeting. Those volunteers were: Douglas Lukonen, Gia Cawthorn, Emily Ziadeh, Nathan Robertson, Tom Fix, Beverly Hancock, Ryan Kieffer, Annetta McGee, Christine Vanderweedt, Carolyn Willis, Teresa Erwin, Tyson Kimbrel, Scott Miller, Cindy Rhea, Gary Richmond, Jane Smith, Jana Lowe, Gloria Sanders, Gary Hunter, Betty Cox, Jan “Niki” Delk, Dawn DuBois, Sharif Ansari, Vicki Allen, Kristi Brockelsby, Szu Brown, Zehua “Casey” Li, Daniel Clanton, Christine Estes, Kirk Garrett, Christopher Hanvy, Jonathan Habart, Margarita Haag and Willie Gunter, Jr.
“I was honored to be a part of such a successful VITA site this year,” said Beth Gill, Tax Consultant with the Internal Revenue Service. “Everyone involved played an incredible role in the success of this site and because of that success, Greenhouse Ministries received President Obama’s Martin Luther King Drum Major Award for Community Service.”
The Drum Major Award honors outstanding contributions to community and society in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King’s teachings and philosophy of love and nonviolence.
“We hope that our results reflect a dedication to Middle Tennessee’s residents,” commented Nathan Butturini, Site Coordinator for the VITA program.
The VITA program is expected to resume in January 2013. For more information, please visit www.greenhousemin.org or www.uwrutherford.org.
