News Room

On January 25, 26 and 27, volunteers from United Way of Forsyth County’s Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness will conduct Forsyth County’s annual Point-In-Time Count to assess the number of unsheltered homeless in Forsyth County. Each individual will receive small items like toiletries and blankets to make their existence more tolerable, but none are more welcome than $5 gifts cards for food.   

On January 17, 2012, the EITC Program of Forsyth County will reopen the VITA Free Tax Preparation program for the tax season. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County operates nine free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) tax preparation sites throughout the area. Each year, the EITC/VITA Program holds an event to alert eligible people about the EITC credit. This event also serves to inform the community of the VITA free tax preparation sites.

This year, the IRS has declared Friday, January 27, 2012 National EITC Awareness Day, to help bring attention to the program nationwide. A local event in conjunction with EITC Day will be held at 9:00 am at the Career Connections & Prosperity Center at 585 Waughtown Street, one of the EITC tax preparation sites. Community leaders will be on hand and free tax services will be provided starting at 11:00am.

Last year, this combined community-based free tax preparation program served more than 3,500 families throughout Forsyth County by preparing their taxes for free through trained and certified volunteers to save them money, and ensuring that many eligible households claim the EITC which is a tax credit for low-to-moderate-income working families. More than $2 million is retrieved annually in EITC refunds for families and the local economy, and nearly $4 million in total refunds are processed annually by the program.

A feature of the program is a website, www.ForsythFreeTax.org, launched to provide online information about free tax preparation sites in Forsyth County, as well as an explanation of the EITC. Information about site locations and their schedules can also be obtained by calling First Line at 703-3000 or United Way 211. 

Some of the EITC Program’s VITA sites will open January 17, 2012 and continue through the end of tax season.  The website and information lines give all of the individual tax site opening dates, operation hours, and locations where families with incomes of approximately $50,000 or less can get free income tax preparation and electronic filing. The website also provides information and links to IRS training and certification for volunteers. 

EITC/VITA Program free tax sites include the Central Library and Malloy Jordan Heritage Center, along with Goodwill Industries, Truliant Federal Credit Union, and the Career Connections and Prosperity Center on Waughtown Street. There are a variety of days and times for tax preparation, including evenings and Saturdays. Bilingual tax preparers are available at the Waughtown and Truliant locations. The forsythfreetax.org website also provides a list of additional appointment-only locations for the taxpayer’s convenience.

The EITC/VITA Program in Forsyth County is sponsored by the Forsyth Working Families Partnership, a collaborative of various agencies in the community serving low-income families, and other institutions such as United Way, as well as local businesses and educational institutions that come together to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit, offer free tax preparation, as well as asset-building programs such as savings accounts and first-time home ownership.

“Building My Future” is a campaign of awareness, education, and promotion of free tax preparation clinics throughout the area, as well as an endeavor to help working families learn about the EITC and how to use it and other tax credits to build their futures.

LIVING UNITED - January 2012

American Red Cross

"Winter Days of Giving" Blood Drives, December 21-31.  Give the "Gift of Life" this holiday season. All are at the Red Cross Blood Center, 650 Coliseum Drive.  Call 1 800 RED CROSS (733-2767) for an appointment.  More.