FREE BASIC INCOME TAX PREPARATION FOR LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES

POTTSTOWN, PA — Family Services, the Montgomery County Asset Building Coalition and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are offering free basic income tax preparation for low-to-moderate income individuals and families (who earned less than $54,000 in 2015) through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

The IRS trains and certifies all VITA volunteers to prepare and electronically file income tax forms. VITA volunteers are trained to assist clients in claiming special credits and refunds, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The mission of the program is to help working families improve their finances and increase their self-sufficiency.

“We can help put money back in your pocket,” said Lupe Hernandez, Family Services’ VITA site coordinator. “By filing your taxes through a VITA site, not only will you save money in filing fees, but you’ll also receive your tax refund as soon as possible.”

Family Services is offering VITA appointments at two locations in Montgomery County:

• Family Services’ Pottstown Office, 1976 East High Street, Pottstown. Appointment times: Mondays and Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Family Services’ Eagleville Office, 3125 Ridge Pike, Eagleville. Appointment times:  Thursdays, 5-8 p.m.

Appointments are required. To schedule an appointment at the sites listed above, please call Family Services at 610-326-1610.

Individuals should bring the following documents to their VITA appointment:

• Photo identification (driver’s license or state-issued identification card) for self and spouse
• Social security cards for self, spouse and dependents
• Birth dates for self, spouse and dependents
• Wage and earning statement(s) (Form W-2, 1099, unemployment statements) from all employers for self and spouse
• Health insurance statement (Forms 1095-A, 1095-B or 1095-C)
• Interest and dividend statements from banks for self and spouse
• Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit
• Other relevant information about income and expenses
• Total paid for daycare, daycare provider’s address and tax identification number
• Form 8332 or a copy of a divorce decree if you are a non-custodial parent claiming a child
• A copy of last year’s federal and state tax returns (if available)
• If filing jointly, both the filer and spouse must be present to sign the tax return.

For a complete list of VITA tax preparation sites in Montgomery County, please visitwww.mcassetbuilding.org.

Would you prefer to file your taxes in the comfort of your own home? Now you can—for free and without an appointment! Individuals or families with a combined income under $62,000 may prepare and file their own federal and state taxes online at www.myfreetaxes.com/fsmontco.org. This website is powered by H&R Block and sponsored by Walmart and the United Way.

Since 1900, Family Services has been caring for children, seniors and families in Montgomery County who face everyday emotional difficulties or physical hardships. The agency’s innovative social service programs make a positive difference in the lives of 13,000 county residents each year. For more information, contact Family Services’ Pottstown Office at 610-326-1610 or visit http://www.fsmontco.org.

Althouse Arboretum Seeking Donations And Matching Grant For Youth Programs

Below you’ll find the proposed trail map, letter from the Executive Director (Ken) and both the business and individual donation requests (PDF files).  Our goal is to reach $5,000 by March 20^th and the only way we will do that is with your help.  This is the Arboretum’s first matching funds grant and it would be awesome to start off with a great success.

All donations will be matched by The Greater Pottstown Foundation to allow the SAVE Alliance Foundation to provide free after-school and summer outdoor experiences for low income and at-risk youth from the Pottstown area.  Not only will the donation help create a first-class arboretum, but it will also go to provide such a wonderful service for the region’s children.

Ex Dir letter with donation info, Trail map letter individual, Trail map letter business

As Banking Goes Mobile, Branch Closures Rip Through Local Economy

Phil Arlia has been dispensing medication in Pitcairn since 1968, but he was more than a pharmacist.

He was a kind of banker.

“We always had a courtesy of cashing customers’ paychecks, state checks, any kind of check,” said Arlia, owner of Phil’s Pharmacy on Broadway Boulevard.

But he stopped cashing checks when the borough’s only remaining bank, a Citizens Bank branch, closed last March. Arlia no longer had fast access to cash to replenish his register when it got low.

The branch closure made it more difficult for Pitcairn residents to access cash to spend at local businesses.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7501236-74/bank-branch-banking#ixzz3QcH1zOMS
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

EITC Funding Helps Qualifying Families With Preschool Costs At MCCC

Blue Bell, Pa.—The Children’s Center at Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) is offering subsidized preschool education to low-income families for the 2014-15 academic year through Educational Investment Tax Credit (EITC) funding from North Penn United Way.

Funding is available for children ages three and four with a household income that is under 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and who live in the North Penn or Souderton school districts. Those who qualify will have 70 percent of their weekly child care tuition covered. Funding is available on a first-come, first served basis and is open to current MCCC students and members of the community.

To learn more, contact MCCC Children’s Center Director Debbie Ravacon at 215-641-6618 or dravacon@mc3.edu.

The Children’s Center, which is located at MCCC’s Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, is a fully licensed child care center that is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). It is recognized by NAEYC as an exemplary early childhood education program in the nation for its work to engage diverse families, has a top Keystone Stars rating of four, and is a consistent recipient of the Start4 Merit Award.

Research identifies cost and accessibility to affordable child care as reasons why lower-income students do not complete college. The Children’s Center supports MCCC’s strategic goal to expand access to education and increase student success by offering accessible child care at discounted rates and flexible schedules to maximize affordability.

For more information about MCCC’s Children’s Center, visit mc3.edu/student-resources/child-care.

Registration for fall semester classes at Montgomery County Community College is going on now. Classes are available in 14, 10 and seven-week sessions that start on Aug. 27, Sept. 24 and Oct. 15. Visit mc3.edu/Fall2014 to learn more.

Pottstown Cluster Of Religious Communities Announces Holiday Food And Toy Program

Join us for our Annual Holiday Program December 16, 2013- December 20, 2013

Annual Holiday Food and Toy Program

Each year the Pottstown Cluster holds its annual Holiday Food and Toy Program.  We offer a Holiday meal for 200 families and toys for over 400 children in the Pottstown area. We try to meet the needs for as many families as possible so each year that number increases. Your support and generosity will make this another successful year.

Additional Volunteers will be needed Friday December 13th through Friday December 20th, packing and distributing groceries and Holiday boxes, if you have a small van we need someone to help pick up some food donations; sorting toys and helping clients shop.

If you would like to donate or organize a drive, we are in need of unwrapped toys for children 16 years and younger for the Toy Program – just some suggesstions…..gift cards, educational toys, books, coloring books/crayons, DVDs, games, dolls, puzzles, sleeping bags, sports items….as long as they are age appropriate.  Have fun shopping!

Be part of our Adopt a Family program.  You can sponsor one family that is on our waiting list with a meal and presents.

For the Food box we still need eggs, butter, pie, milk and rolls.  However, we do not have the room to store these items so please drop them off December 17th.

If you have any questions, please contact Victoria Bumstead, Volunteer Coordinator

VBumstead@PottstownCluster.org or call 610-970-5995

Happy Holidays to eveyone!!!

Fast-Food Workers’ Low Pay Costs The Government

Ben and Sharneka Hunter are a fast-food family.

The Wilmington husband and wife work at Burger Kings in different cities – Ben, 43, in Wilmington, Sharneka, 30, in New Castle.

Both earn hourly minimum-wage salaries of $7.25. And both need food stamps and Medicaid to augment their combined $17,000 yearly salary – $2,500 under the federal poverty line – so that they and their 9-year-old daughter can survive.

“I don’t think it’s fair to be underpaid,” Ben said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20131020_Fast-food_workers__low_pay_costs_the_government.html#oAbI1DavEof2fDXe.99

Norristown Pie Festival Is A Delicious Way To Aid Food Cupboards

Location of Norristown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA — Local churches are the barometers of economic disparity in the West End. The once affluent community, with its stately homes lining Haws Avenue, has become a different sort of place. On streets lined with houses whose kitchens once knew bounty are the hungry citizens of contemporary Norristown.

The Rev. Sandra Etemad, rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, described area residents as “a lot of really hard working people that don’t have enough money.”

There are a number of food ministries in Norristown that work to alleviate hungry neighborhoods, from All Saints’ twice monthly Saturday dinners to Haws Avenue Methodist’s Sunday lunch.

The purpose of these meals is twofold. They serve those searching for sustenance and act as meeting places, where parishioners and other community members can gather for company. There are those who attend the meals for just a few minutes of conversation.

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20130919/norristown-pie-festival-is-a-delicious-way-to-aid-food-cupboards

A Poll For Pottstown Area Residents

The proposed Family Dollar store on Farmington Avenue (formerly McCabe’s and Rosenberry’s) is generating some controversy.  We would be interested in getting your reaction to this news.

Booming Greater Berks Food Bank Considers Bigger Home

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Greater Berks Food Bank has seen its demand triple in the 18 years the organization has been in its Muhlenberg Township warehouse, and officials are eager to expand the facility or move into a larger building.

A feasibility study, initiated in June, is expected to wrap up this month and provide an idea of what that would cost.

“We simply are out of space and cannot do more at our current location,” executive director Peg Bianca said of the 19,500-square-foot warehouse off Tuckerton Road.

“We are constantly moving pallets of food out of the way to get to the products on the pallet behind them,” Bianca added, “and have been storing some of our inventory off site as well.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=501724

Americans On Food Stamps

English: Logo of the . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The number of people using food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increased by an average of 13 percent a year from 2008 to 2012.  House Republicans dropped funding for food stamps from a new version of the farm bill.  Voting takes place Thursday.  Read related article.

Click here to see map of US with 2012 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation levels by state: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/food-stamps/

Community Hub Resumes In Lancaster City

Eastern Market launches 7th season Saturday

 

Lancaster city’s Eastern Market serves many roles.

The seasonal market is intended to get fresh, locally grown produce to residents of the low-income East King Street neighborhood. It also serves as a business incubator for upstart entrepreneurs, as a community hub and as part of an initiative to promote a sustainable urban lifestyle.

Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the market begins its seventh season working to meet those goals.

Under the shadow of the former market house, now home of Tabor Community Services, the market will occupy the plaza at 308 E. King St.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/655998_Community-hub-resumes-in-Lancaster-city.html

Pennsylvania’s CHIP Program Has Growing Numbers

As hard times and high unemployment rates continue across the country, a program that aims to cover all uninsured children and teens in Pennsylvania has seen steady growth regionally and across the state.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, was launched in Pennsylvania in 1992 and was used as a model for the federal program four years later, according to state Insurance Department spokeswoman Melissa Fox. As of this month, CHIP covered nearly 194,500 children and teens, about a 17 percent increase from 2007.

Locally, CHIP enrollment has also seen growth. In Lackawanna County, nearly 3,000 kids and teens were covered by CHIP, a 22 percent increase since 2007. Luzerne County saw a 33 percent jump in members during the same time frame, with about 4,600 kids and teens covered right now.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/children-s-health-insurance-program-seeing-steady-increases-1.1249337#ixzz1hghhKmT1

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Funds Cut

The federally funded LIHEAP provides cash grants to help income-eligible homeowners or renters pay for home heating fuel.  The state Department of Public Welfare expects the LIHEAP funding from the federal government to be cut in half. Last year, the state received $326 million in funding.  The expectation for this winter is $163 million, said Carey Miller, the department’s spokeswoman.  Thus, the department has changed the eligibility levels for funding, as well as the maximum amounts people can receive.

Read more: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_19621104

Demograhics, Border Development And Low-Income Riverfront Housing

Hopefully,  looking at these figures will help illustrate why Pottstown needs to move away from low-income and Section 8 housing if we ever want to revitalize this community.  Looking at the numbers, we are again at the bottom.  And we wonder why development happens all around us?  Not really!  Welcome to the donut hole.  You can find this information at city-data.com

Pottstown Borough 4.9 square miles  –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $45,941

Upper Pottsgrove Township 5.0 square miles –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $89,145

West Pottsgrove Township 2.4 square miles –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $54,067  

Lower Pottsgrove Township 7.9 square miles –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $65,879

Douglas Township (Montgomery County) 15.3 square miles –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $70,404

North Coventry Township 13.4 square miles –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $65,694

East Coventry Township 10.8 square miles –  Estimated median household income in 2008: $73,497