The William P. Gordon Institute for Enterprise Development is offering the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in Kosciusko County to provide free tax preparation for the 17th year running. This service will be offered to elderly, disabled and lower income individual(s) filing a basic tax return. This cannot be accomplished without volunteers, and we are asking for your help.
This program provides a unique opportunity for Grace College students in the Introduction to Tax class to put their learning into practice. Each student enrolled in the course is now required to volunteer with VITA for 15 hours. Overall, the VITA program has proven to be a prime learning environment for student volunteers, whether for accounting majors or other business type majors.
The Grace College School of Business is preparing for its 17th year of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The program, which provides free tax preparations for seniors, disabled and lower-income individuals filing a basic tax return, will run from the beginning of February through the end of March.
“We do this first and foremost to help the community. VITA provides a valuable service to individual families in Kosciusko County, and it funnels that money back into our local economy,” said Dr. Al Grossnickle, a retired professor from Grace College and former director of the William P. Gordon Institute of Enterprise Development. Each season requires around 30 students and 15 community volunteers to complete over 325 federal and state returns.
Volunteers, including School of Business students, professors, retired CPAs, and local tax enthusiast, make this services possible to Winona Lake and the surrounding municipatlities.
When Grossnickle took over the program in 2012, he saw a unique opportunity for students to put their learning into practice. It is still a requirement for students enrolled in the Intro to Tax class to participate for 15 hours and put their tax knowlegde to the real-world test. Much to students’ suprise, it becomes one of their favorite parts of the class. VITA truly unites classroom knowlegde with community application.
“I participate in the VITA tax program because it is a wonderful opportunity for me to use the skills I have acquired in my field of study to serve the people in my community,” said Gracie Long, second-year VITA volunteer and student leadership team lead. “It has taught me the importance of adaptability, organization, and gracious communication, which will be fundamental to my future endeavors,” Long added.
