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Local Community Members Realize Savings by Getting Income Tax Returns Prepared on Campus Social Work Students Learn and Serve to Address Issue of Hunger Environmental Science Students Visit South Broward Waste-to-Energy Facility Sixth Annual Community Engagement Symposium: A Pictorial Report Faculty May Submit Proposals for Community-Based Research Incentives at Any Time Box Tops for Education Drive Needs Ongoing Support from Faculty and Staff
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Local Community Members Realize Savings by Getting Income Tax Returns Prepared on Campus
Local community residents have saved nearly $22,000 by filing their income tax with assistance from accounting students on
Individuals and families were expected to receive nearly $98,000 in refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this year, said Dr. Kevin Kemerer, associate professor of accounting.
Barry’s main campus is the Miami Shores site for the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. During the 2019 tax-filing season, the site handled 109 tax returns, most of which were filed electronically.
“Based on our 104 e-files for the 2018 tax year, individuals and families should receive refunds totaling $97,824,” Kemerer said. He disclosed that the preparation of the 109 returns, including five on paper, resulted in taxpayer savings of an estimated $21,800.
The VITA program offers free tax assistance to people who generally make $55,000 or less, as well as persons with disabilities and taxpayers who speak limited English. IRS-certified volunteers provide basic income tax return preparation to qualified individuals.
Kemerer noted that 28 taxpayers who qualified for earned income-tax credit (EIC), a tax reduction and a wage supplement, would receive EIC refunds of just under $20,000.
Through his service-learning course on federal income tax, Kemerer taught students the tax code and the fundamentals of tax preparation. Students also took a battery of tests as part of the IRS certification.
The students, who provided tax preparation service to low- and moderate-income members of the community, were Lavell Applewhite, Rachel Bacchus, Krystal Barrios, Jennifer Brizard, Ricardo Burford Jr., Christian Cabrera, Joshua Delva, Victoria Lulciuc, Peyton Rawls, Adrienne Wilcox, and Amilcar Yanez.
Barry alumna Nair Manuel also served at the VITA site. This was Manuel’s fourth year as a volunteer tax preparer.
Kemerer, who has served for six years as the VITA site coordinator, gave a report during the end-of-semester celebration for his accounting class on May 9.
On hand to acknowledge the work of the volunteers were Gina Ruiz-Fernandez, IRS senior tax consultant; Dr. Joan Phillips, dean of the Andreas School of Business; and Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives.
Phillips and Bowen thanked Kemerer and his students for exemplifying the university’s core commitments, including collaborative service. Phillips pointed to Kemerer’s “servant leadership” and Bowen to the “measurable impact” of the students’ service to the community.
Ruiz-Fernandez expressed appreciation for the service provided at the VITA site over a six-year period. “We are proud of this partnership,” she said, “and we’re looking forward to many more years with Barry.”
Noting that the nationwide VITA was celebrating its 50th anniversary, Ruiz-Fernandez said that in 1969, the program had 7,500 volunteers, who assisted with the preparation of 100,000 tax returns. So far this year, she added, more than 80,000 volunteers serving at 11,000 sites had prepared over 3 million tax returns.
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Social Work Students Learn and Serve to Address Issue of Hunger
The issue of hunger was front and center for a group of social work students this semester. The students learned about the causes and consequences of hunger, and about U.S. hunger policy; then they took part in projects designed to alleviate hunger.
Enrolled in SW 323, Service-Learning and Social Work Practice, the students completed projects with Bread for the World, Pass It On Ministries of South Florida, and Barry’s Food Recovery Network (FRN) chapter in association with Miami Rescue Mission.
Students did hunger-related simulations; some sorted food as well as clothing in Pass It On Ministries’ North Miami pantry; others delivered and served meals to community members at the Miami Rescue Mission site.
Two students, Tony Augustin and Tony Fajardo, co-presented “The Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation” with the Bread for the World regional organizer (Florida), Florence French, at Barry’s sixth annual Community Engagement Symposium on March 27.
Joshua Holzworth became “highly involved” in the food recovery efforts and signed on to join the FRN chapter, with plans to serve during the summer.
The SW 323 students were required to complete 45 hours of collaborative service as part of the designated service-learning course. They reflected on their semester-long experiences during the annual Service-Learning Symposium of the School of Social Work on April 30.
“The readings came to life through our service,” reported a student.
“I learned about helping people in need and addressing social problems,” reported another.
Florence French and David Street, deputy director (eastern and southern regions), represented Bread for the World at the Service-Learning Symposium. Director Mary Pierce represented Pass It On Ministries. They expressed appreciation for the collaboration with the university and for the service that the students provided.
Dr. Phyllis Scott, dean of the School of Social Work, commended the students on their performance. She also thanked adjunct instructor Elizabeth Shaw for her work and community partners as well as the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) for their support.
Dr. Maria Teahan, associate dean of social work, and Philip Giarraffa, director of the MSW Program and Student Services, attended the symposium. Liz James, experiential learning coordinator, represented the CCSI.
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Environmental Science Students Visit South Broward Waste-to-Energy Facility
Students taking an environmental science course visited the Wheelabrator South Broward waste-to-energy facility in Fort Lauderdale recently.
The facility can produce 66 MW of electricity, enough to power 38,510 homes as well as its own operations.
Students learned that Wheelabrator South Broward uses 2,250 tons of everyday household and business waste each day as local fuel to create a local-energy ecosystem that generates renewable energy for the local utility.
Students also learned that, as the facility processes post-recycled waste, it reduces waste volumes by 90 percent, and it recovers, reuses, and recycles the remainder, including metals.
Wheelabrator South Broward says it aims to empower students to become active environmental stewards in their community.
BIO 308-L, Environmental Science Lab, is a designated service-learning course. Dr. Anita Zavodska, an associate professor in the Department of Biology, is the course instructor.
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Sixth Annual Community Engagement Awards: A Pictorial Report
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| Faculty May Submit Proposals for Community-Based Research Incentives at Any Time
Faculty members may submit proposals for community-based research (CBR) incentives at any time, the CCSI has announced.
The CCSI awards CBR incentives through a competitive process to full-time faculty members who teach undergraduate and/or graduate courses. Up to three CBR awards are usually available each year, and applicants may request $500–$1,000.
A document with a detailed description of the Community-Based Research Incentive Program, the application form, and the rubric used by the Review Committee for assessing applications are available in CEMS – the Community Engagement Management System.
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Box Tops for Education Drive Needs Ongoing Support from Faculty and Staff
The organizers of the Box Tops for Education Drive have urged faculty and staff members to continue supporting it.
Proceeds of the drive benefit two South Florida elementary schools – North Miami in Miami-Dade County and Sheridan Hills in Broward. The schools earn 10 cents for each Box Tops clip.
Box Tops clips from household products may be dropped in the labeled boxes found in the CCSI office (Adrian 208), the Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library, and Thompson Hall. Alternatively, donations may be sent to Dr. Stephanie Bingham in the Department of Biology, Siena 309.
Cereals, household-cleaning supplies, paper products, and school supplies are on the list of eligible products found at the following site: <http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/participating-products>.
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