Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a national effort to use volunteers (in our case, Wofford students) to prepare tax returns for working families - helping them access the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which enjoys bi-partisan support and has been hailed as one of the greatest poverty-fighting tools we have. Using volunteers also helps families avoid paying tax prep fees to businesses that pop up in low-income neighborhoods around tax time.
For their part, students will:
For many, sitting with dozens of low-income families to discuss their finances debunks myths students have carried about lower-income people and about the social systems that can trap people near or below the poverty level.
Wofford’s VITA program was founded a decade ago by the compassionate and talented Professor Jenny Johnson in Accounting. In 2016, through the Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL), and in continued partnership with Professor Johnson, Wofford began partnering with the SaveFirst initiative of Impact America to manage our VITA program. In 2017, the site moved to its current location at the Spartanburg Downtown Library headquarters. 2017 was a banner year for Wofford’s VITA program. Students in the “Introduction to Community Development” Interim and upper level Accounting classes:
If you’re interested in getting involved with VITA, please contact a staff member.