By Kelley McClurkin
Our office phone has been ringing a lot lately.
A LOT.
Ever since we opened the phone line for our free tax preparation service, called VITA, the team here at United Way of Hancock County has been busy setting tax appointments for members of our community.
If you were to walk into our office on any given day, you’d likely hear one or more conversations that sound something like this:
“Do you live or work in Hancock County?”
“Was your combined household income for 2024 under $67,000?”
“Then you qualify. Let’s get you scheduled for your free tax preparation appointment.”
(By the way, if you answered yes to both of these questions, you also qualify. Give us a call at 567-245-5599 and we’ll get you on the books!)
If you are unfamiliar with it, VITA is an IRS-sponsored program that brings certified volunteers together for free income tax preparation. United Way of Hancock County ran the program for many years before getting derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we were thrilled to bring it back in 2022.
This year we secured a large federal grant that allows us to expand the program even further, and we are on a mission to complete a minimum of 1,160 state and federal returns during the 2025 tax season.
That is no small feat, and it’s all made possible by an army of volunteers who are dedicating their time — some up to six days a week — to file taxes for their fellow community members. Many of our volunteer tax preparers are retired finance professionals from Marathon Petroleum Corp., and plenty more are working professionals who simply have a penchant for numbers.
Additionally, we have a great group of volunteers who are serving as greeters. These dedicated individuals are posted at both VITA sites, 50 North and the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library, and are ready to assist and direct clients as they arrive for their appointments. We are always in need of more greeters, and this would be a fantastic opportunity for college or even high school students who are looking to get in those service hours!
As we expand the program this tax season, we expect to make a community impact well over $1 million. That’s money going directly into our clients’ pockets, with absolutely no filing costs to worry about.
It’s all part of our mission to measurably improve people’s lives in Hancock County, and it helps support our Financial Stability Initiative, which seeks to put every person in our community on a path toward financial empowerment.
We are extremely proud of the VITA program and all the wonderful volunteers who make it run smoothly. I’d be happy to tell you more about it — after I answer the phone real quick!
McClurkin is CEO at United Way of Hancock County.
(This guest column appeared in the Feb. 1, 2025, edition of The Findlay Courier.)