YOU KNOW WHAT today is, right?
Well, yes, it is Oct. 7 and it is the 280th day of 2018 (which means that it’s probably time to dump last December’s fruitcake) and … yes, you’re right: Daylight Saving Time does begin in Australia today.
But today is way more special than that.
Today is the day that some of you will hear opportunity knocking, because today is the day that I hit on you to become a Tax-Aide volunteer.
“Oh, right,” you’re thinking, “I’d rather be resetting all of my Australian clocks.”
Wait a minute.
Tax-Aide are the good guys, remember?
These are the folks who help low- and middle-income and elder members of our communities figure out and electronically file their income taxes for free.
These are the folks who boldly go where almost none of us have gone before: They (knowingly) sign up to learn enough about taxes that they can actually pass an IRS-mandated annual test to prove it. And they do a lot of that studying during the holidays.
(I know, I’m impressed, too.)
And, yes, you do remember correctly: This is actually AARP Tax-Aide, but you don’t have to belong to AARP to volunteer or to get their free tax prep assistance, because this is the AARP Foundation, so take that for what it’s worth to you.
And, no, you don’t have to be retired to do this. You just have to care.
The Tax-Aide coordinators are geniuses at juggling schedules.
If you’re like me, you try to imagine who would volunteer to prepare income tax returns and the picture you probably see is a bunch of nerds with bottle-bottom, horn-rimmed glasses who think rocket science isn’t rocket science. And, yes, there are a few of those.
There are also folks from just about every walk of life you care to imagine who just decided to become part of the solution — to give back.
And many of them do it year after year after year.
Why? Because it changes lives for the better.
Now, don’t get me wrong, becoming a Tax-Aide volunteer is a lot of work. It’s a lot of self-study, classes, more self-study and more classes, then the dreaded IRS test.
Then you have to actually go do the work during tax season for free.
Folks are asked to volunteer at least four hours per week during the season, but most do quite a bit more. And they do that because they get a lot back from the people they help.
If you have trouble getting four out of two plus two, or never learned how to turn on a computer because your abacus wasn’t broken, this might not be your gig.
No harm, no foul.
But if you have a reasonable facility with numbers and like people this could be right up your proverbial alley.
What do you do?
Well, the best place to start would be to go to www.aarp.org/taxaide to fill out an online application (and, no, your abacus can’t do that; I tried).
Soon after, you’ll be contacted by a local coordinator to launch your personal foray through the IRS looking glass.
Burning questions? OK, you could email one of the local coordinators, such as Yvonne Starkey for Jefferson County, at yvonneraestar key@gmail.com or call 360-531-4040.
Live in the West End? OK, email Hearst Coen, hj_coes@msn.com or 360-452-6541.
If you’re in the Sequim area, email Mike Schneider, mschnei834@yahoo.com and if you’re around Port Angeles you could send Susan Fisher an email at susanfisher 99901@gmail.com or call 360-457-1531 and in your voice-mail reference, “taxes.”
One long-time volunteer continues to volunteer for Tax-Aide because “… it’s good for the soul.”
Now who among us couldn’t use a bit of positive karma?
Just do it.
Don’t overthink it or imagine all kinds of insurmountable obstacles.
Just do it. And soon.
It’s already the 280th day of the year and time’s a’wastin’. (Well, unless you live in Australia …)
________
Mark Harvey is director of Clallam/Jefferson Senior Information & Assistance, which operates through the Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He is also a member of the Community Advocates for Rural Elders partnership. He can be reached at 360-452-3221 (Port Angeles-Sequim), 360-385-2552 (Jefferson County) or 360-374-9496 (West End), or by emailing harvemb@dshs.wa.gov.
