VITA volunteer spotlight
Pat Ganz, Tax Wiz
Pat Granz is the definition of a life-long volunteer. She started accompanying her mother to volunteer opportunities as soon as she could walk and it has become a tradition of a life devoted to serving her community. When I first met her, her spirit and can-do attitude were among the first things I noticed. She stands firm in her convictions and always talks positively about her family and friends. I sat down with Pat to learn more about her fascinating story and to help celebrate the successful wrap up of the Volunteers in Tax Assistance program.
Born in 1940, She’s stayed in the Greater Sacramento area most of
her life. Even met her late husband at Folsom Lake! 25 years a
mother, PTA and Camp Fire Girls, 20 years with the Internal
Revenue Service and through all of this working with different
parts of the community.
Pat is no stranger to United Way, either. All through her time
with the IRS she worked on the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC),
now the Our Promise campaign; helping her coworkers and
others fill out their paperwork and even working as a loan
executive once or twice. United Way also worked with her and her
daughters’ Camp Fire group.
She began her work in Tax assistance even before the VITA program
came to Sacramento, helping people check their forms when they
arrived at the Post Office to mail them. She used her more than
20 years experience with the IRS to help people fill out their
return correctly and get the return they deserved.
You have an incredible list of accomplishments, both as a
volunteer and as a professional, what do you enjoy in your free
time?
My life is so full. I have 2 daughters and a son that live within
an hour of me. Prior to going to work for the IRS, they
were my full-time job and all of my hobbies. Now I enjoy
sewing, traveling, working in the yard and spending time with my
three grandkids. I love country music, actually we all do! We’re
going to a George Strait Concert soon.
What’s your favorite quote?
“If there’s anything worth doing, it’s worth doing right” My
grandmother drilled that worth ethic into us and I still strongly
believe in it. You’ve got to complete the job you start. It
applies to my work with the VITA program as well. Just because
it’s free does not mean that these customers don’t deserve our
best.
Can you share with us something else that inspires
you?
I’m very inspired by the older people who come in here to get
their taxes right. They have a different outlook on life; they
feel like the country is still worth saving. They don’t want to
cheat anyone, and never would in a million year. Another person
who inspires me is Diana [Clay]. Her great leadership has made
this program run so smoothly and has helped us serve some many
more people than we have in the past.
We want to thank all of our awesome volunteers, especially those who helped us make VITA such a success. All the VITA volunteers have to go through hours and hours of preparation and training to help in this program, so we truly appreciate all they do.
For more information on how to volunteer in United Way programs, please contact us at Volunteer@uwccr.org.