Now Boarding! VITA is the Next Stop at the Station
By Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director
Elated for the start of our family trip to Italy, after a long plane ride, we finally arrived in Florence. Set for adventure, we set foot in the train station for a ride into the center of town. “Do you know where we are going?”, my husband asked. I pointed to the sign on the train and said, “Unita, that is where we are going”.
After purchasing our tickets, he handed me my ticket and I boarded the train and very quickly the doors closed, separating me, on the train, from my husband and daughter, still standing on the platform. We both tried to open the doors, to no avail, all we could do was look at each other through the glass and wonder.
After a second of shock, we started laughing as I rode off on the train. Here’s the catch, I knew where we were going, had every map image possible and the address of our hotel, but my husband did not. I did not have cell phone coverage and he did (being frugally minded we are) and thus we could not contact each other.
The people on the train around me noticed what happened and began to laugh with me through concerned eyes. I started to panic, then calmed myself saying, I know where I am going, go to the center – Unita – and they will come. I willed my husband to think like me and tried to determine if I was thinking like him. I then asked the nice folks on the train which stop Unita was and they were kind as I asked maybe 10 times.
United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC) has been so graciously able to write these columns every week for many years now. Our intentions are not only to inform, but also to entertain. The topics can feel repetitive at times; however, we do have a rhythm to our calendar and almost always know where we are going and what our intentions are.
Often though, it is next to impossible to get that word out to everyone we need to. In this day of media inundation, what form of media is the best? Is it the paper, a social media channel? What is the best way to draw someone’s attention to a very significant service?
This happens to be the time of year when we launch our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, our free tax preparation service. The first appointments begin next week, made possible by our incredible team of volunteers from our community. In fact, our phone volunteers have already fielded over 400 calls for tax appointments since the first week of January.
And yet, we still find folks who say, I did not know you had this program. Our volunteers want to make sure that we are reaching as many as we can. What about the folks working who can benefit from this service greatly but are so focused on working that they miss the notices. UWCC is on the train, headed to our destination and yet the communication plans made are still missing the connection.
How can you help?
You may not need our service. However, we’re certain that someone in your circle, tribe, family, or neighborhood does. Who do you know that is working or not working? An individual, or family? Tell them, go ahead, and tell everyone you know. UWCC offers free tax preparation assistance. We can help them receive all of the eligible tax credits they qualify for and we do it for FREE! For more information, simply visit: unitedwayccfl.org/VITA
Lastly, to assure your wondering minds, my husband and I did think alike. Arriving two trains after mine, I saw them step off at the Unita train station and I was finally able to breathe. We then set off for our great big Italian adventure, only after having a quick conversation about our contingency plan the next time that happened.
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.