WIPPS Americorps and Americorps*VISTA Volunteer Projects
VITA Site Assistance
Placed at the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service for AY 2011-2012, Deanna Meek serves with the national network of VISTAs that coordinate programs for non-profit organizations. VISTA projects, which span three years, aim to redress issues of poverty, and VISTA workers ensure that the programs they assist are sustainable beyond their departure. The program Meek coordinates is the UW-Marathon County (UWMC) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Part of a national network of IRS-supported sites where low to moderate income individuals can receive free tax preparation services, this program is offered at various sites in every state. Participants that complete their tax forms at a VITA site eliminate preparation fees, and may profit by utilizing additional VITA services. Many clients fall below the required income level for reporting and, seeing no need to file, may miss out on tax credits that they are eligible for, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. This refund alone can have a significant impact on someone making minimum-wage who might use it to build a savings account or to spend in the local community. The UWMC VITA program also promotes financial literacy by helping clients learn how to best use their refund to accomplish long-term goals.
RP3 and Tax and FAFSA Preparation Projects
In AY 2009-2010, WIPPS partnered with the Center on Business and Poverty, the Wisconsin Credit Union league, Precision Information, the Department of Public Instruction, the IRS, UW-Extension, and a variety of local organizations to provide tax and FAFSA preparation for low income families, employees, and students. This project represented a series of multipronged efforts to build wealth in realistic, achievable and meaningful ways. For example, WIPPS assisted with the REAL Progress & Pathways to Prosperity (RP3) initiative to help credit unions throughout Wisconsin use an online financial literacy tool designed to train employees how to improve their own financial knowledge and decision-making. The employees, in turn, became more knowledgeable to help credit union customers make better financial choices in their lives. Also, WIPPS worked with a UWMC accounting professor to offer a service-learning course to teach and train students to become certified IRS tax preparation assistants. These UWMC accounting students then linked with an existing VITA site to increase the number of individual and families served in Marathon County. Finally, these projects were linked to FAFSA preparation training and building capacity to help more college students access financial aid that often otherwise goes unused. WIPPS also partnered with the Department of Public Instruction to help with their College Goal Sunday FAFSA preparation campaign.
Department of Public Instruction/WIPPS Mentoring Program
In summer 2011, WIPPS and the Department of Public Instruction – Wausau Branch (DPI) discussed the idea of creating a mentoring program within the Wausau School District. WIPPS offered access to college students to serve as mentors and DPI had an already well-established relationship with the school district. The mentoring program, deemed “High Five 4 College,” was officially launched in November 2011. High Five 4 College is an after school program open to all students at Horace Mann and John Muir Middle Schools. Students in the DPI’s early identification program at DC Everest Middle School are encouraged to attend High Five 4 College as well. Students attend High Five 4 College to learn everything there is to know and more about continuing on to higher education after high school. In High Five 4 College, “higher education” refers not only to 4-year universities, but to all types of colleges – including 2-year, vocational, technical, and for-profit. Through games and activities such as “Financial Aid Bingo” and “College Jeopardy,” students learn about the different types of colleges, how to apply, and how financial aid works. The High Five 4 College program also seeks to develop students’ leadership and teamwork skills. In addition to teaching about college, High Five 4 College provides middle school students with positive role models who are pursuing higher education. College students from UW-Marathon County serve as mentors for the middle school students. They attend the after school program and help facilitate games and activities. The AmeriCorps members from WIPPS and DPI, as well as staff members from both organizations, facilitate the program. For information on how to enroll as a student, contact Kathy Drury at 715-842-3201. To volunteer as a mentor, contact WIPPS AmeriCorps Emily Schreiner, at emily.schreiner@uwc.edu.