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Bona’s students take on tax preparation with United Way

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By Emma Zaremba

Features Editor

A helping hand is always offered for those who need it in Cattaraugus County. The St. Bonaventure chapter of the New York State Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) is hard at work, helping to prepare tax returns for low-to-moderate-income workers who are eligible for aid.

Accounting students at Bonaventure volunteer each year to provide free income tax preparation and e-filing for several people across the county. Through the sponsorship of the department of social services in Cattaraugus County and United Way, VITA has and continues to make a positive impact on the community.

United Way administration finance manager Gail Smith joined United Way of Cattaraugus County in 2007 and understood the company to be an organization based on giving back to people in need.

“(United Way) was put together to try and pool some funds together to meet the needs of those in our area who are vulnerable,” Smith said. “Whether they be seniors, children, disabled or people in need of stability of any kind.”

Smith then described the process that must take place before the United Way accepts an agency.

“Every year we allow agencies to apply, but they must provide services to our county,” Smith said. “We provide funds for programs, so we pay directly to agencies that apply through allocations. VITA, which is one of our community-impact models, is sponsored by the department of social services, and the services (tax prep) are provided by St. Bonaventure through the training of Dr. Anders and Sue Miller.”

Susan Anders, chair of the accounting department, and Miller are the supervisors behind the program as well as the advisers to several student volunteers.

According to graduate assistant Ted Podosek, the program is filled with student volunteers.

“At the front desk we have 15 student volunteers and either 3 or 4 adults that give up part of their day to help,” Podosek said. “They help supervise and keep everything orderly. The tax preparers, besides Dr. Anders and Sue, add up to 35 people.”

Last year, the school-run program exceeded standards and became known as a great source for bringing revenue to Cattaraugus County.

“I believe they were just up over $750,000 in returns to our county alone,” Smith said. “I’m not sure what the number is with the number of years they’ve been doing it (the program), but they do it completely free.”
Podosek shares a similar view about the program’s reliability.
“This chapter has been here for about 10 years, I believe,” Podosek said. “We’re already well over what we projected to be from what we’ve been doing this semester. This is our third day (working for the semester) and everything is going smoothly.”
In the past, VITA rented an office space through United Way in the Olean mall. Starting last year, United Way saved the office space next to theirs on West Union Street that would be there throughout the year.
“We pay their bills and also provide office space to them year round so that you don’t have to get in and back out every year,” Smith said. “In the mall we were putting a lot of maintenance cost in to get the site up and running. It’s been a nice partnership and they are great neighbors.”
Smith commented further on her appreciation for VITA and the effort they put into their work.
“It has been a beautiful relationship,” Smith said. “The function of this is so smooth that it’s hard to believe that we do such a volume. Dr. Anders and Sue Miller should take most of the credit for how VITA runs, because if it weren’t for them it wouldn’t be as good as it is.”
Miller echoed a similar feeling toward United Way and the ease with which the program functions.
“The United Way and Cattaraugus County’s department of social services cover all of the paper costs, all the electric costs and more,” Miller said. “It’s a big help, because we do generate quite a bit of paper.”
Podosek mentioned the steps students must take to become a volunteer tax preparer.
“We go through an entire VITA course for one credit, about once a week for a semester,” Podosek said. “We practice tax returns, and at the end of the semester our grade is based on whether or not we pass an ethics test. Besides that there are three separate tests — a basic, intermediate and advanced level preparation test.”
Although the position of tax preparer takes more time to obtain, anyone can apply to work as a front desk volunteer.
“To be a front desk volunteer, you can be a freshman or sophomore,” Miller said. “They do have to go through an online IRS test for standards of conduct, because keeping the information private is important to avoid a breach of ethics.”
Senior accounting majors Carrie Wozniak and Eric Smolarek described the daily work load in the office.
“We get about one appointment an hour and together we work on it,” Smolarek said. “It takes 30 to 45 minutes to finish a return, and we haven’t had any problems yet.”
Wozniak agreed work has been rather smooth for the first few days.
“It’s nice that we aren’t swamped yet because we are both new and it’s easier to get in the swing of things before bringing in more appointments,” Wozniak said.
Students work around a full class schedule to set up volunteer hours at the VITA office. Over the years, the community has been appreciative of the volunteers’ services.
“With H&R Block or Liberty, it generally costs $150, but coming here clients get a refund of $300,” Miller said. “If they went somewhere else they might only get $150 of it.”
The benefit of this program goes beyond a greater tax return, according to Podosek.
“It’s honestly a great opportunity, and you get a lot out of it,” Podosek said. “You’re not only helping out with the program, you’re helping the community which is the biggest thing St. Bonaventure has taught us.”
Wozniak referred to her experience as a good professional experience to have, as did her colleague.
“I just think that it’s food for the community as well as for us,” Smolarek said. “It gives us the real-world experience while also helping out the community in a real way.”
Smith’s closing comments reflected just how blessed she feels to be a part of VITA.
“Anything Bona’s does automatically comes with a standard of excellence,” Smith said. “We know that it’s going to be beneficial. We like to give back to Bona’s as much as we receive because they’re such an amazing entity in our community.”
zarembek11@bonaventure.edu
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