Ariva closed out yet another successful tax season this year, and our amazing volunteer team helped to bring us to the finish line. More than 100 people joined us as tax preparation volunteers, all from different backgrounds, all dedicated to providing thorough, confidential free tax preparation services in NYC.
Our free tax preparation services are fueled by dedicated volunteers like Alex Dang, who joined our volunteer community during the pandemic in 2020. With a background in software engineering, filing taxes is far from Alex’s day-to-day, but the idea of becoming a community tax volunteer intrigued him.
“Taxes can seem like such a complex field, and it seemed interesting to get hands-on experience, especially because I don’t have any knowledge of taxes besides doing my own,” Alex shares. “Plus, my job isn’t customer facing in any way, so it felt like a fun way to interact with other people that I normally wouldn’t meet in life.”
This tax season, we welcomed Alex back at our Spring Bank tax site, one of our busiest year-round locations. As an experienced tax preparation volunteer, Alex took on quality review, which is a crucial step in helping us efficiently process returns.
“Anyone can become a VITA volunteer. The IRS has their own resources and training program that you can go through, and we have to get recertified with the IRS every year,” Alex explains.
Indeed, no matter your background, you can become an Ariva tax prep volunteer in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). Volunteers receive IRS-certified tax training every year, and, upon completion of the certification exam, their primary duty is to prepare tax returns.
“Everyone has to do their taxes, so you meet a lot of different people,” Alex says. “You also get to work with so many other volunteers. They’re all in different fields from me, and they all have their own motivations for volunteering, so that’s nice.”
We love that our volunteers come from all walks of life because they all come away with different stories to tell. For Alex, volunteering is quite the opposite of his day job and gives him the opportunity to make connections with people he otherwise would’ve never met. For others, volunteering gives them the opportunity to strengthen their English-speaking skills and apply tax knowledge to their schooling. No journey is the same, but every volunteer leaves a lasting impact on our community, and our community leaves a lasting impact on our volunteers.
We’re so grateful for Alex for his many years of service on our volunteer team. Volunteers like him are what make every tax season a success, allowing us to file more than 8,000 tax returns each year across 12 tax sites! If you’re interested in helping New Yorkers with community tax services, too, join our volunteer team! In addition to tax preparation services, you can also teach our clients how to take advantage of free financial help with our financial counseling services.