VITA Program Offering Free Tax Prep. Services in RI
GoLocalProv Business Team
VITA Program Offering Free Tax Prep. Services in RI
Each VITA site, which represents a community agency, are certified by the IRS and offered services during last year’s tax season. Participating agencies successfully applied for funding through UWRI for a three-year grant cycle beginning in 2014 and recruited and trained volunteer tax professional who will help taxpayers complete their income tax forms. Many of the sites will offer services in both English and Spanish, and returns will be filed electronically to expedite the return of refunds.
“The VITA program is an important resource for our working neighbors, particularly during these difficult economic times, as it provides access to the resources that put money back in their pockets,” said Anthony Maione, president & CEO of United Way of Rhode Island. “Not only will this initiative help stabilize households across our state, it will also bolster the economy—it’s truly a win-win effort.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe VITA Initiative was launched locally in 2005 to help Rhode Islanders understand and take full advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Education Credit and refunds they are due. Over the past nine years. the VITA initiative has returned more than $92 million to working households.
In 2013, nearly 9,000 taxpayers took advantage of the program—more than any previous year—resulting in over $16 million returned to the economy.
Rhode Islanders looking to take advantage of the VITA program should review the list below or contact United Way 2-1-1 in Rhode Island by dialing 2-1-1 to find a VITA site in their community. Appointments are necessary at most sites and the program will continue through mid-April. Select sites offer evening and weekend hours.
Organizations offering free tax preparation services through the VITA program:
Bristol
Bristol EBCAP/St Mary Church
330 Wood Street
(401) 435-7876
Central Falls
Progreso Latino
626 Broad Street
(401) 728-5920
YWCA of Greater RI
43 Hawes Street
(401) 722-3010
Cranston
Comprehensive Community Action (Through 5/30/14)
311 Doric Avenue
(401) 467-7013
Cranston Senior Services
1070 Cranston Street
(401) 780-6130
East Providence
East Bay Community Action
100 Bullocks Point Avenue
(401) 435-7876
Johnston
Tri-Town Community Action
1126 Hartford Avenue
(401) 351-2750 x1915
Lincoln
Lincoln Public Library
114 Old River Road
(401) 766-2300
Newport
East Bay Community Action
19 Broadway
(401) 435-7876
Pawtucket
Blackstone Valley Community Action
32 Goff Avenue
(401) 723-4520 ext. 200
Project Hope
474 Broadway
(401) 728-0515
Woodlawn CDC
210 West Avenue
(401) 475-7632
Providence
Capital City Community Ctr.
1085 Chalkstone Avenue
(401) 455-3890
Capital Good Fund (Through 12/12/14)
56 Pine Street, 3rd Floor
(866) 584-3651
Center for Southeast Asians
270 Elmwood Avenue
(401) 274-8811 ext. 22
Dorcas International Institute
645 Elmwood Avenue
(401) 461-5940 ext. 8626
Federal Hill House
9 Courtland Street
(401) 421-4722
Johnson & Wales University (Available starting 3/6/14)
80 Johnson Hall (Corner of Chestnut and Pine)
(401) 598-4789
Olneyville Housing Corp.
66 Chaffee Street
(401) 351-8719 ext. 111
Open Doors
485 Plainfield Street
(401) 781-5808 ext. 116
ProCap Elmwood Community Center
85 Atlantic Avenue
(401) 654-4971 ext. 105
Providence Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church
131 Elmwood Avenue
(401) 603-0327
Wakefield
South County Community Action
1935 Kingstown Road
(401) 789-3016 ext. 316
The Education Exchange
33 North Road, Unit C-1
(401) 783-0293
Warwick
Westbay Community Action
218 Buttonwoods Avenue
(401) 732-4666 ext. 121
Westerly
WARM
56 Spruce Street
(401) 596-9276
Westerly Public Library
44 Broad Street
(401) 596-0078
Woonsocket
Connecting for Children & Families
46 Hope Street
(401) 766-3384
Family Resources Community Action
245 Main Street
(401) 766-0900
13 Biggest Business Stories in RI in 2013
13 Best Biz Cities in RI
GoLocal's examination of the Best Cities and Towns to do business in RI explored new ground for companies looking to relocate or expand.
Our researchers culled municipally-distinct data on tax rates, workforce availability, cost of living index, economic indicators for short term and long-term job growth, even average driving time to TF Green Airport, to quantify a blend of factors that make for a pro-business environment. Because every city and state in RI complies by statewide measures, those metrics weren't included in GoLocal's research.
12 Superman
Our coverage of the Superman building's threatened future started back in 2011, when a news story by GoLocal's News Team first unveiled the threat that Bank of America would leave the building and leave the city with the largest embarrassment.
In the story, The Superman Building: Downtown’s Ticking Time Bomb - former Mayor and developer Joe Paolino predicted the demise of the iconic building.
The failure to act by the Taveras Administration created the tallest embarrasment in America - one that has been reported by most every news organization in America.
GoLocal covered the demise of the building throughout the year.
11 JetBlue Factor
JetBlue's arrival to Rhode Island was first announced by GoLocal is the summer of 2012, but no one quite knew the impact of the JetBlue factor, until a promotion by the airline was launched in partnership with the Big Blue Bug, which rocked the internet and sold out $20 tickets in minutes.
The promotion launched on GoLocalProv showed the world of advertising has changed forever.
Launched one minute and thousands sold out nearly instantly.
10 New England's Business
GoLocal's business team loves to collect and breakdown critical data to help Rhode Islander's get a beat on the story or even the bigger story.
One massively wide-read story was one that pivoted off the data of the Milken Institute and its rankings of all the cities in America.
The Best-Performing Cities study is published annually in order to highlight the cities and metropolitan areas in the U.S. that are prospering, and to point out those that are struggling from a structural point of view. By examining job, wage, and technology metrics over a five-year period, the publication utilizes a data-driven approach to provide a comprehensive measure of economic strength.
9 Arcade is Back
GoLocal has been tracking the Arcade since we came online in 2010 - from investigative video reports about the homeless living in the building to restoration and the reopenning.
While the financial district is only a shadow of itself - kudos need to go out Evan Granoff for pouring millions into the restoration of the classic Greek revival edifice.
8 38 Studios Defendants
An exclusive report by GoLocal's Investigative Team unveiled that defendant's in the 38 Studio's lawsuit had filed responses, and they had a very different opinion of what caused the collapse and the loss of $100 million to the State of Rhode Island.
Almost every defendant pinned the blame on Governor Lincoln Chafee for failing to give oversight and then hitting the panic button and forcing the ultimate collapse of the company.
GoLocal posted more than 440 page of court documents.
7 Social Media
Social media continues to flex its muscle and demonstrate that it is far more influential than legacy media.
Twitters IPO and the progression of the Facebook model have redefined business.
One article in GoLocal's on going coverage of the metamorphosis of social media was a great guidance article by Johnson & Wales' Sierra Barter which functionally went viral.
Amazingly, one of the biggest stories of 2013, the effort by union leaders to force John DePetro off the air for calling female teacher protestors "WHORES," has been battled almost exclsuively on social media.
6 Alex and Ani Growth
Rhode Island's homegrown Alex and Ani continues at rocket speed growth.
The Cranston-based, Made in America jewelry company continues to bundle the very best of Rhode Island: jewelry design, old school manufacturing and smart marketing.
According to a study by Bryant University:
• Generated $80.04 million in revenue, including $22.06 million in sales in the state of Rhode Island, $51.42 million in sales in other U.S. states, and $6.57 million in exports.
• Supported 1,094 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in Rhode Island, from which 296 are direct FTE jobs and 798 are induced FTE jobs.
• Created $35.4 million in income for Rhode Island households. Direct earnings totaled $10.32 million and induced earnings totaled $25.1 million.
5 College Endowments
In Rhode Island, colleges and universities are big business. They are major economic engines and each of the local colleges readily announce the positive impact they have on the local economy and job creation.
GoLocal's look at the top 50 endowments of the college and universities in New England, found that Harvard's $30+ billion endowment overshadowed all other colleges in New England.
Brown ranked ranked 5th in New England and 28th overall with an endowment of more than $2.4 billion.
4 Fastest Growing
While Rhode Island's economy is trailing the rest of the country, there are some bright spots. Throughout 2013, GoLocal featured a number of companies that were fast-growing.
Inc Magazine's fastest growing companies in the US list flagged some real growth engines.
3 Twin River Rebound
Twin River is now a real casino with humans not video tapes dealing black jack.
Under the leadership of John Taylor, the company has rebounded from bankruptcy and become a model for gaming firms.
Now, Twin River is expanding and has made a strategic purchase in Mississippi.
With casinos coming online in Massachusetts sometime in the future, Twin River is doing a better job diversifying and planning for the future than the state of Rhode Island, who is so dependent on the revenue.
2 Unemployment
Rhode Island's unemployment situtation is a national embarrassment, and it is hard to see a governmental strategy designed for its improvement. In the post-38 Studios environment, decision-makers are affraid to champion significant initiatives.
The result is now that Rhode Island is last in America in unemployment and the crisis has gone on without improvement for years and years.
1 Demise of Newspapers
In the past year, the Providence Journal has laid off, demanded buyout or pushed retirements of over 50 reporters, editors and photographers - a staggering percentage of the newsroom.
Many of the those who departed were among the most recognized. Pulitzer Prize winning writer Mike Stanton quit to take a teaching job at UConn and now freelances for the Boston Globe.
Speaking of the Boston Globe, Red Sox owner John Henry bought the Globe from the New York Times for $70 million which represented a 97% loss in value for what the NYTimes had paid for the Globe and other related media.
As GoLocal's Pultizer Prize winning reporter Dean Starkman has written repeatedly about the need for media to invest in content. His words seem to fall on deaf ears.
