Lifeline, Inc. Seeking Volunteers to Assist with Income Tax Assistance Program

December 1, 2015
PAINESVILLE, Ohio— Lifeline, Inc., Lake County’s Community Action Agency, is currently seeking volunteers to become trained to assist low to moderate income households with tax preparation next winter. In partnership with the IRS office in Cleveland, Lifeline and its volunteers will undergo varying levels of training, provided free of charge by the IRS.

Lifeline, Inc. will provide free tax assistance to our community beginning in January 2016 through the national Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). The program trains volunteers to prepare simple federal and state tax returns for working families, elderly and individuals with disabilities. Tax returns are prepared at no cost and training is provided to volunteers for free.

You can make a real difference in the lives of working families by helping them claim every tax benefit to which they are entitled. Taxpayers to take advantage of this free tax assistance can save on tax preparation fees and receive fast refunds.

Anyone can volunteer. No tax accounting experience is necessary, only a desire to help others in need. Volunteers can participate in several training levels. Once certified, volunteers will be scheduled to assist with tax preparation January through April at times convenient to them. Lifeline, Inc. will use computers to electronically prepare and transmit tax returns.

For more information, please contact Michelle Mezaris, Director of Community Services at Lifeline, Inc., at 440-354-2148. Please contact Mezaris by Friday, January 8, 2016 if you are interested in volunteering for the VITA Program.

Lifeline for the Empowerment and Development of Consumers was founded in 1973 with the mission of helping Lake County residents by providing them assistance and life skills programming that is designed to increase self-sufficiency. In 1980 Lifeline became a participating agency of the United Way of Lake County, UWLC, and in 1987 was designated a community action agency by the Ohio Development Services Agency, ODSA. In 2008, Lifeline was designated as a mental health agency by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Today Lifeline continues with the same mission of helping Lake County’s low-income residents break the cycle of poverty and make the transition from agency-dependency to self-sufficiency. Lifeline’s current programming includes services in the healthcare, housing & energy assistance, information & referral services and consumer education & job training areas. Our motto is ‘helping people, changing lives.’ Lifeline is currently funded by the UWLC and by grants through the ODSA, the Lake County Board of Commissioners, the Lake County ADAMHS Board, Lake County Department of Job & Family Services, the City of Mentor, the Western Reserve Junior Service League and through private donors.