​VITA appreciation dinner recognizes volunteers, results

VITA appreciation dinner recognizes volunteers, results 

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio Inc., the City of San Antonio, and United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County as well as the VITA San Antonio coalition honored over 350 tax preparation volunteers at the annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Recognition Dinner on April 28 at the San Fernando Cathedral Hall.

The top three volunteers with the most volunteered hours this tax season were recognized at the dinner. This year, IRS-certified volunteers prepared 34,331 tax returns, surpassing last year’s 30,218 prepared tax returns, and returning more than $55 million in refunds to taxpayers. San Antonio taxpayers received over $22 million in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) dollars.

“We are excited to be a part of the best VITA program in the nation and so thankful for the City of San Antonio and the United Way partnership,” said J. Antonio Fernandez, president/CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Catholic Charities recruited over 800 volunteers for the program. “I spoke with a couple who were happy with the money they received and were very happy with the treatment their received at Catholic Charities. They referred to the individual who completed their taxes as an ‘angel’ who will help them pay their bills,” Fernandez said.

“While completing 148 tax returns for VITA during this tax season, I met bus drivers, servers, teachers, chefs, laborers and many others,” said Steve Goldberg, VITA volunteer and former USAA senior executive. “They were completely confused by the system they faced but relieved someone was there to help them through the process.”

San Antonio’s VITA Program is a city-wide coalition of non-profit organizations and businesses whose goal is to increase the financial stability of working families throughout San Antonio and Bexar County. VITA helps individuals and families properly claim the EITC credit, a significant tax credit for low and moderate income workers. The VITA Program had twenty-one sites open across the city offering free income tax preparation and electronic filing to individuals and households who earned up to $60,000 in total income last year.

“We are so thankful for our volunteers who took the time from their busy lives to help over 35,000 families this year. They are the backbone of the VITA program,” said Richard Keith, assistant director of the city’s Department of Human Services. “By working together, the San Antonio community has built one of the most successful VITA coalitions in the United States.”