Citizens Bank Donates $50,000 to VITA Program

Doors to Granite United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program opened for free tax preparation sites across the state this week as Citizens Bank generously donated $50,000 to the program.

Individuals and families with household incomes up to $62,000 are eligible for free tax preparation through the VITA program.  Taxes are prepared by IRS-certified volunteers who are up to date on all of the tax codes and can assist low-to-moderate income residents of the state to access the greatest amount of refunds. Both Granite United Way and Citizens Bank share a common goal of encouraging financial stability and recognize the importance of programs like VITA to families and individuals.

“The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program has been growing each year and partners like Citizens Bank play a critical role in making the service accessible to families and individuals across New Hampshire,” said Patrick Tufts, President and CEO of Granite United Way. “Our volunteers are trained to help residents claim thousands in tax refunds, including more than $1.7 Million in Earned Income Tax Credits last year. That one credit, combined with the Child Tax Credit, the EITC lifted, on average, 16,000 NH residents out of poverty each of the past three years.”

“The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program will help many New Hampshire individuals and families with their tax preparation and put resources back in their pockets as well as in communities across the state,” said Joseph Carelli, President of Citizens Bank, New Hampshire. “Citizens Bank recognizes the need for access to financial education in order to increase economic independence, and we are pleased to support to the United Way through the VITA program.”

VITA sites are located in Salem, Manchester, Concord, Laconia, Franklin, White River Junction, Windsor, and Littleton. Additional sites including the Seacoast area and Peterborough. Several ‘virtual’ VITA sites are also scheduled to open this year in Colebrook, Gorham, Conway and Plymouth.

Scheduling an appointment is simple.  Those interested can call 211 and schedule their appointment.  

“Granite United Way’s VITA Program offers a free alternative to individuals and families who have a household income up to $62,000. Not only will they save money on the tax preparation, they will learn about ways they can become stronger financially.” said Cary Gladstone, Director of Asset Building for Granite United Way.

Granite United Way also encourages self-filers with internet access and a household income up to $62,000 to take advantage of www.MyFreeTaxes.com.  This provides access to filing software at no cost and a toll-free number to call for tax questions.  It is sponsored by United Way Worldwide.

Next week on January 29th the nation will be recognizing the importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit with its own awareness day.

“The EITC has been revolutionary in that it has been shown to improve health outcomes in even broader ways.Research shows that social and economic factors, such as income, have a bigger impact on an individual’s overall well-being than access to and quality of clinical care.” said Katy Shea, from the Capital Area Public Health Network (CAPHN). “Income provides economic resources that shape choices about housing, education, child care, food, medical care, and more. As income and wealth increase or decrease, so does health.”

These opportunities for building financial stability are seen across the state and in local areas like Manchester.

“Through the investment of Citizens Bank, we look forward to assisting with the establishment of VITA sites in our Community Schools – specifically Beech Street and Gossler Park Elementary Schools at part of the Neighborhood Health Improvement Strategy.” Said Jaime Hoebeke, Division Head for Chronic Disease Prevention and Neighborhood Health at the City of Manchester Health Department. “Across the country, VITA sites have proved to increase access to the EITC and allow families to begin savings plans for the future. We are excited to have the opportunity to bring this resource to Manchester families.”

For more information on Granite United Way’s VITA program, contact Cary Gladstone at 603.224.2595 x223.

The VITA program is a partnership with United Way, Citizens Bank, the IRS and AARP Foundation Tax Aide.

Granite United Way
Granite United Way is an experienced and trusted organization dedicated to leveraging the resources of investors and volunteers to create lasting change by addressing the underlying causes of our community’s most pressing needs.  Granite United Way is committed to improving the lives of individuals and families by supporting programs in the areas of education, income and health.  Granite United Way works with over 1,000 companies, 25,000 investors and thousands of volunteers every year to make our communities a better place. Granite United Way is rated a 4-Star Charity by Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This coveted recognition is the highest possible rating and is only bestowed upon 1 in 4 rated charities. Granite United Way has also been named to Gold Level status by GuideStar, the largest source of nonprofit information, connecting people and organizations with information on more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized nonprofits. Granite United Way is the only United Way in New England to hold both distinctions.

Granite United Way serves the Southern (Manchester/Derry/Salem), Merrimack County, North Country, Central NH, Northern and Upper Valley Regions of NH and VT as well as Windsor County, VT.  For more information, visit www.graniteuw.org.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $135.4 billion in assets as of September 30, 2015. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle?market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens helps its retail customers “bank better” with mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid?Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in select markets nationwide. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not?for?profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance. Citizens operates through its subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found at www.citizensbank.com.