Volunteering

by Lee Benson of the Deseret News

Photo by Rick Egan, The Salt Lake Tribune

Tax season is never the happiest time of the year, but that's when Utah's dozens of Tax Aide volunteers spring into action to help people complete their tax forms--for free. Tax Aide sites are available at approximately 32 sites in Utah, though the program is nationwide and serves people in every state. There is no age or income limit, but the program primarily serves people over 60 of low-to-moderate incomes. All volunteers are trained and many have accounting or finance backgrounds. Congratulations to State Coordinator Jack Dahl and his many volunteers of the state for serving Utahns well and providing a much needed service.

AARP Utah is a strong supporter of the Utah Food Bank (UFB), with several volunteers who deliver food boxes on a regular basis and a monthly staff service project. So when we donated $8000 to the UFB, our Advocacy Director, Danny Harris, had the idea to challenge our Utah members to match it. We sent letters to each member in the state while the UFB promoted the match challenge on their website, online ads, and through social media. We thought that bringing in an extra $20,000 would exceed any reasonable expectations, so were thrilled that AARP Utah members contributed over $38,000 in checks and online donations. Because the UFB can translate each dollar donated into eight dollars of goods and services, AARP Utah’s total contribution has a value of $373,448! Both the UFB and we were amazed by the enormous generosity of our members in Utah.