Next generation of VISTAs

My year with AmeriCorps at Oberlin's Bonner Center for Service and Learning will be up next month. But the Ohio Benefit Bank will still be thriving in Oberlin and Lorain County thanks to three national service members who will be continuing the great work. I want to take this opportunity to introduce them.

Two new AmeriCorps*VISTA members, both recent Oberlin College graduates, will take over the task of organizing the Oberlin tax clinics. Instead of being stationed at the Bonner Center for Service and Learning, these VISTAs will be working directly out of Oberlin Community Services and will have other duties in addition to their work with the Ohio Benefit Bank. They will both begin in mid-July.

• Corey Patrick Harkins, also known as 'Cuy,' graduated from Oberlin College in May 2012 with a passion for education and community service and a degree in Environmental Studies. Born and raised on an emu farm in the Sierra Nevadas, Cuy values hard work and collaboration. He is excited to work with OCS as the AmeriCorps*VISTA Math Tutoring Coordinator. In this position, Cuy will be coordinating the America Counts program in Prospect Elementary School, as well as overseeing the training of Ohio Benefit Bank counselors. Corey can be reached at americacounts@oberlin.net
• Alex Toutant will join OCS as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer Coordinator this summer, where he will work to increase the volunteer programming and assist with the Ohio Benefit Bank program. He graduated with a B.A. from Oberlin College, where he studied Politics and Comparative American Studies. Over the past two years, Alex has spent over 700 hours volunteering in nonprofit organizations that specifically seek to improve the lives of low- income and homeless populations in the United States. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and discussing politics. Alex can be reached at ocservices@oberlin.net

A third VISTA at the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio will be continuing the community organizing work of Megan Surniak, whose term ended in June. She covers Ohio Benefit Bank tax and benefits sites in Huron, Erie, Crawford, and Lorain counties, and she will now be supervising the benefits sites in Oberlin and Wellington (the territory formerly covered by the VISTA at the Bonner Center).

• Nancy Ann Smith is an AmeriCorps VISTA and she is currently serving as a Community Organizer, promoting greater access to the Ohio Benefit Bank, working through Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio. Nancy comes with a teaching and Community Action Agency background and chose to serve the area in this way because she is a success story of using public assistance to climb out of poverty, become the first of her family to be a college graduate, and find fulfillment teaching children, then adults, and now agencies. She could not be serving the community now if she had not received essential assistance throughout the years when her children were of school ages and she was earning her teaching degree. Nancy can be reached at nsmith@secondharvestfoodbanks.org

Farm bill update

As you may already know, the U.S. "farm bill," or Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 is up for re-evaluation and renewal this month in Congress. This omnibus bill tends to be controversial for poverty and hunger activists and agriculture/business lobbyists alike, as it contains the allocations for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps) and TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) and determines agricultural subsidies. Provisions in the bill can influence international trade and the natural environment, drawing concern from even more interested parties and lobbyists.

The farm bill is up for renewal every five years. This year, the Senate began consideration on the bill passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee the week of June 4. This version of the bill contained $4.49 billion in cuts to SNAP. Several amendments are in the works. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is working on an amendment that would restore the money lost to these cuts, but others would likely increase them. The House Agriculture Committee is expected to bring its version of the bill to a vote this week, and decreases in spending on food assistance are expected to be even sharper.

Feeding America's Hunger Action Center has information on the farm bill's food assistance provision, and action you can take. For more information about the farm bill, follow the news and stay up-to-date!

New Feeding America study "maps the meal gap"

Feeding America, the national parent organization of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Bank, recently published a map of food insecurity across America. The food insecurity rate in Ohio is 18.1%, above the national average.

See the Map the Meal Gap interactive graphic and study

Columbus Dispatch article on food insecurity in mid-Ohio

Spring 2012 Student Community Engagement Survey

The Bonner Center for Service and Learning wants to know how you are involved in your community so we can have a better sense of what we can do to help you be more involved. To that end, we are asking students to complete our Community Engagement Survey, which is available via the following link: 

Spring 2012 Student Community Engagement Survey

This quick survey will only take a couple minutes of your time. 

The survey will close at 9 am on Monday, May 21, and completing the survey will enter you in a drawing for a $10 Slow Train gift card! 

Does everyone have to file a tax return?

This is one of the most common questions I get asked. Since we're getting down to the wire here, this seems as good a time as any to address it. (Don't forget, Tax Day is April 17 this year!) What are the circumstances under which one can get away with not filing a tax return? First, there are two important points to consider:

• Even if your circumstances are such that you don't HAVE to file a refund, you may still be entitled to a refund if taxes were withheld from your wages or other sources of income. Depending on your income, you may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can provide a federal refund of up to $5,751. Therefore, it can be wise to file even if not required to.
• If you are considered a dependent (for example, your parents list you as a dependent on their taxes), you may be required to file your own separate return if you make a certain amount of money. Those requirements are different than for non-dependents, so read on!

In determining whether or not you need to file, there are four main factors:

• Whether or not you are a dependent
• Your filing status (What is my filing status?)
• Your age
• Your gross income (all income you received EXCEPT social security benefits UNLESS you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse during the year)

For people who are not dependents:

Filing Status	Age at the end of 2011	Minimum Income
Single	Under 65	$9,500
	65 or older	$10,950
Head of Household	Under 65	$12,200
	65 or older	$13,650
Married Filed Jointly	Under 65 (both spouses)	$19,000
	65 or older (one spouse)	$20,150
	65 or older (both spouses)	$21,300
Married Filing Separately	Any age	$3,700
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Children	Under 65	$15,300
	65 or older	$16,450

For dependents:

Unearned income is considered income that was not earned by working, such as investment income or gifts.

Filing Status	Age at the end of 2011	Minimum Income
Single	Under 65 (and not blind)	$5,800 earned (OR $950 unearned)
	65 or older OR blind	$7,250 earned (OR $2,400 unearned)
	65 or older AND blind	$8,700 earned (OR $3,850 unearned)
Married*	Under 65 (and not blind)	$5,800 earned (OR $950 unearned)
	65 or older OR blind	$6,950 earned (OR $2,100 unearned)
	65 or older AND blind	$8,100 earned (OR $3,250 unearned)

*Special requirements for married dependents: You are required to file a return if your spouse files a return and itemizes deductions, and your total income is $5 or more.

Important facts about the EITC

EITC stands for the Earned Income Tax Credit and it is one of the most powerful tools the government has for bringing families out of poverty. The EITC can bring a federal income tax refund from $2 to $5,666 if the individual circumstances are right. The IRS estimates that one in five families that qualify for this large credit fail to claim it. Here are some things to remember:

• The EITC reduced the amount of tax owed and may result in a refund (remember the last blog post here--this is a refundable credit)
• The Benefit Bank asks questions and calculates whether clients are eligible to ensure that ALL potentially eligible clients are presented with the choice to take the credit or not
• Learn more here!

Tax basics

So many people, even those who do their own taxes, don't really understand the basics of taxes. Today, a very brief overview of one small piece of tax filing that is frequently misunderstood.

What is the difference between a credit and deduction?

Credits are a direct dollar-for-dollar reduction of an individual's tax liability. There are two different types of credits: non-refundable and refundable.

Non-refundable credits can reduce the amount of tax owed to $0, but cannot increase the amount of a refund. (Examples: child tax credit, retirement savings contribution credit.) Refundable credits, on the other hand, can reduce the amount of tax owed and, once your tax liability has reached $0, contribute to your tax refund. (Examples: Earned Income Tax Credit!)

Deductions are amounts that are subtracted from a person's adjusted gross income to arrive at the taxable income. It reduced's an individual's tax liability in proportion to his or her tax bracket.

I hope that helps!