Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) goes on, without SBHS Don’s Net Cafe
A free, go-to tax spot for local last-minute filers is now closed.
The popular student-run Don’s Net Cafe on the campus of Santa Barbara High School (SBHS) disbanded roughly a year ago after a more than 10 years. Miss B., the teacher in charge, retired. We’re told, funding ran out.
“This being the first year without the Don’s Net, It’s been different,” said Melinda Cabrera, Director of Strategic Partnership with United Way.
Cabrera told NewsChannel 3 that a handful of students and SBHS Assistant Principal Tiffany Carson rallied to keep the Cafe’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) part of the program going, under leadership of the high school students and in partnership with United Way.
“The whole Eastside community really depended on the free tax operations services,” Cabrera said. “As you can imagine, it can be a daunting task for a lot of people so to have that as a consistent site for free tax preparation has been a huge help. And it’s great to see students continue the leadership.”
VITA falls under United Way’s umbrella of United for Financial Empowerment. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also a partner and provides both volunteers and training guidance for students preparing taxes.
“Working with clients, they (students) get customer service experience,” Cabrera said. “Learning how to prepare taxes is really a useful tool that they will keep with them and continue to use through their adulthood. It (Don’s Net Cafe) will be missed but it’s great to see leadership of the students will continue.”
The SBHS students finished their last batch of taxes last Monday, however, two of United Way’s eight VITA sites are still operating, on limited hours.
The Police Activity League site at 1235 Chapala Street will be open Saturday, April 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Franklin Neighborhood Center at 1136 Montecito Street will be open Monday, April 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Tax Day is Tuesday, April 17.
For more information, click the link below:
http://www.unitedwaysb.org/volunteer-income-tax-assistance-vita
