Written by, Debi Linderholm, Free Tax Prep Associate
We’ve all heard the phrase find your bliss. But how do you do
that? One solution Katherine Green has found is through volunteer
work.
I had the pleasure of meeting Katherine through the Free Tax Prep
program. After eight years of volunteering as a tax preparer,
reviewer, and Site Coordinator, in May of 2018, I was hired by
United Way California Capital Region (UWCCR) to oversee logistics
for the Free Tax Prep program. UWCCR is the lead organization of
a coalition of around 50 locations that offer free tax
preparation services in Amador, Placer, Sacramento, Tuolumne, and
Yolo Counties.
Katherine Green has served as a volunteer for the program since
2011. She and I met last October when we were part of the
training team for the new 2019 tax season volunteers. Katherine’s
passion and excitement for the program matched my own and we
quickly connected, bonding over tax law of all things.
Katherine’s volunteer experience began as a child at the Food
Pantry at St. Vincent’s DePaul in St. Louis, MO. Alongside her
mother and brother, Katherine would prepare bologna sandwiches to
later hand out as part of the food distribution program. She can
remember asking her mother why they were always making sandwiches
for others wondering what she was getting out of the deal. With a
mother’s stern kindness she explained to Katherine that
volunteering was not about financial or other tangent rewards,
volunteering was about the internal rewards: spiritual and
emotional gratification.
Various memories such as this speckle Katherine’s childhood and
into her teen years instilling a passion for helping others. By
the time Katherine moved to California to attend CSU Hayward, she
knew volunteering had to be a part of her life.
As a business student, she came across a flyer offering free
training and materials to volunteers who wished to prepare tax
returns with East Bay Asian Community Foundation in Oakland. She
knew learning about taxes would be a useful life skill and here
was an opportunity to not only learn the law but apply the
knowledge while helping others. A perfect combination.
She attributes her success in the program to her first trainers
who taught her tax law correctly. This gave her the confidence to
sit down with clients and apply her knowledge to real world
situations. After eight years, Katherine freely admits that she
still does not know all of tax law and readily cross-checks her
understanding with the materials provided by the program. When
confronted with looking something up in front of a client she
reassures her clients that she will never guess how to apply
something. This gives her clients confidence in her abilities and
trust in the program. “I like to breakdown hard complex issues
into simple terms.” Katherine explains. “And people are like,
‘Oh, I get it. You’re not talking in a foreign language, you’re
speaking plain English.”
After preparing her first few returns, Katherine felt an
immediate sense of gratification and she knew she had found a
good program. Year after year, Katherine knows she’s made the
right choice in volunteer programs as her gratification continues
to grow. In 2015, the state of California offered a new credit
called CalEITC which can increase state refunds for low-income
individuals. Katherine remembers helping a single mom complete
her return that year. The mother made around $12,000 and received
around an $8,000 refund between her federal and state returns.
She was so excited to be able to buy a new car she broke down
into tears. Katherine also found her eyes water with empathetic
joy.
In addition to volunteering, Katherine has a full-time job with
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. To help her
juggle a 40-hour work week with volunteering, she goes
“old-school” and uses a hand-written daily planner. The planner
helps her to visualize what she needs to do and reminds her where
she needs to be. She combines her work schedule and personal
schedule into one large picture. When it all starts to look too
overwhelming, Katherine takes out a pencil and carves out some
“me-time”.
While Katherine enjoys the challenges her job brings, it is her
volunteer work that fulfills her passion for helping people.
“When you’re working [at the Free Tax Prep program] you’re
helping many individuals at a time.” Katherine recently stepped
into the role of trainer. This fulfills her even more as she is
able to help train multiple people at a time.
As she explains what makes a good volunteer experience, Katherine
describes the Free Tax Prep program: “[It] provides a lot of
support to its volunteers, which makes a big difference.” She
feels like she has become a part of the program and is well
valued. Many volunteers, including herself, have a sense of pride
in the program. After each volunteer event she feels accomplished
and leaves knowing she’s helped make a difference in someone’s
life.
When asked to provide advice for new volunteers, Katherine has
two recommendations: First, have at least a passing interest in
tax law. You don’t have to have a background in it, but be open
to learning something new. And second, be honest about your
schedule. Like most volunteer opportunities, you must put in the
time. You should expect to spend about 40 hours for training,
studying and certifying before tax season (October – December)
and then about 8-16 hours per month to volunteer during tax
season (February – April).
When Katherine and I try to describe the “ideal volunteer”, we
both agree, there is no ideal personality needed for tax
preparation. Extroverted and introverted people alike make great
volunteers for the tax program. We have wonderful volunteers who
are very social and enjoy talking to clients, like Katherine, and
we have great volunteers, like me, who are quieter and more
introverted when dealing with the public. Yet, both Katherine and
I have proven to be successful volunteers and have received those
wonderful internal rewards of spiritual and emotional
gratification.
I sincerely appreciate Katherine taking the time to tell her
story. Last season our locations had nearly 500 volunteers
assisting the public with tax preparation needs. Like Katherine,
each of our volunteers has their own unique story and
experiences. Our doors are always open for new volunteers to come
share their stories, experiences, and desire to help others. If
you are interested in joining Katherine and our other outstanding
volunteers this tax season, please visit our website at
yourfreetaxprep.org. We have open training sessions in November
and December. Katherine and I look forward to seeing you there.