Paying it Forward: Student Volunteers Help Others During Tax Season

The period for filing tax returns may be over for another year, but Mercy’s participation in a program to provide free tax services to community members with limited means, continues to reap important benefits to students—and the people they serve.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, better known as the VITA program, is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide low-income, elderly, disabled, and limited English-speaking individuals with assistance in filing their federal and state taxes. Volunteers receive free training to become IRS-certified tax return preparers after which they can work and volunteer at IRS-sponsored tax preparation sites.  Mercy University operates two of those sites – one at its Westchester campus and the other at its Bronx campus. 

Denise Stefano, associate professor and chair of the Department of Accounting, helped found the program at Mercy in 2013, and continues to oversee coordination and participation by students, faculty and alumni. With each passing year the program continues to expand in numbers of volunteers and tax returns prepared, as well as peace of mind and money saved by clients. “In our first year, our volunteers prepared 65 tax returns. This year, working from our own sites, the number of returns prepared by our volunteers rose to 300, which is a 75% increase from the previous year,” said Stefano.

Mercy’s participation is supported and overseen by two community partners: the Workforce Development Board and the County Career Center Network of Westchester and Putnam Counties. Mercy hosts training workshops each January to help volunteers, which consist primarily of Mercy students, prepare to take the required IRS VITA-certification exams prior to working with clients. Stefano and her team, which includes faculty member Sonia Hollies and VITA program alumna Natasa Saric BS ’17, coordinate scheduling the volunteers during the weeks leading up to the April tax deadline.

“We have had student volunteers from other majors participate in VITA besides just our business and accounting students,” Stefano said. “Experiential learning helps them gain marketable skills, and the certification is a real bonus. Most major corporations are familiar with the VITA program and consider it a strength.” What’s more, students routinely work alongside alumni volunteers who sometimes open doors to internships and jobs.

Though it’s hard to estimate the community impact in dollars and cents, it’s clear that the program helps save thousands of dollars in tax filing fees and refunds. But Stefano maintains that the greatest value is the impact on Mercy’s community relations. “By providing this service, Mercy is building allegiances with different organizations and entities we want to serve,” said Stefano.  

Diana Gonzalez, Class of 2025, recently completed her second year as a VITA volunteer. As a bilingual student, she said, “I loved seeing clients’ faces light up when they realized that I could understand Spanish,” she said. Gonzalez was warmed by “the knowledge that you are helping someone. You’re making a change in their lives.”

Sophie Nogueira ’23, who was recently hired by Mercy University to work in the accounts payable department, received more than she expected from her two years as a VITA program volunteer. “I gained more confidence, which helped me put my best foot forward when I applied for the position at Mercy.”

And when business major Margarita Luis-Garcia, Class of 2025, volunteered this year, she vowed to return. “This was my first time, and I worried I might not remember everything,” she said. “If someone is thinking about it, I’d say, give it a try. You’ll get all the resources and help you need.”