Tomorrow!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/18/2011

Media Contact:

Ondrea Keith

440.935.7259

okeith@oberlin.edu

Free Tax Assistance for Local Residents Returns $52,212 in Tax Refunds

Free community tax clinics to be held at Oberlin Community Services February 19^th and March 19^th

OBERLIN, OH – Oberlin Community Services is offering free federal and state tax filing clinics to the residents of southern Lorain County through a partnership between the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio and Oberlin College’s Bonner Center for Service and Learning (CSL). At a clinic held on January 29, 2011 20 people filed their federal and state tax returns, for a total of $52,212 in refunds.

“My tax counselor today was just as helpful and professional as the paid tax preparers I’ve used in the past. There was a lot of privacy and courteousness, which I really appreciated,” remarked a client who came to the January 29^, 2011 clinic.

The program used to file the taxes, The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB), is an Internet-based program that connects low- and moderate-income Ohioans with access to tax filing assistance and work supports, such as food assistance and the Home Energy Assistance Program. The OBB is a program of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, Ohio’s largest response to hunger and supported by nearly 1,200 agencies and organizations throughout Ohio.

At the free community tax clinics, OBB tax counselors, who are trained Oberlin College students and local community volunteers, use The OBB program to screen for different tax credits, like Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credits, and Education Credits. In 2010, the first year of the tax-season partnership between OBB and Oberlin Community Services, three tax clinics helped 54 residents of Lorain County claim over $76,000 in tax refunds.

Upcoming tax clinics are scheduled at Oberlin Community Services on Saturday, February 19 and March 19, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The service is available to most Ohioans with an annual household income of less than $60,000. To make an appointment, or for more information on The Ohio Benefit Bank, contact Ohio Benefit Bank Community Trainer Ondrea Keith at 440.935.7259.

About the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF)

OASHF is Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger, representing Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks and 3,000 member charities including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. In SFY 2010, OASHF and its member foodbanks were able to acquire and distribute over 135 million pounds of food and grocery items. Since 2006, OASHF has administered The Ohio Benefit Bank, the nation’s most successful application assistance program.

About The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB)

The OBB is an internet-based program that helps low- and moderate-income Ohioans get connected with work supports, income enhancements and assistance programs, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, food assistance and free federal and state tax filing. Since the program’s inception in 2006, The OBB has assisted over 181,000 Ohioans in connecting with tax credits and work supports with the potential value of over $404 million.