Views from the Northwest Bronx

29 Fordham University and Manhattan College student volunteers + 10 community partners + 2 housing workshops + 151 Bronxites + UNHP = 1 productive day for all at UNHP's 3rd annual Bronxtober Resource Fest!

Another tax season for UNHP's Free Tax Preparation Program has ended. Working with our partners and volunteers, UNHP assisted over 1,500 tax filers with free, professional tax preparation and so much more!

On Saturday, October 20th, UNHP held its 2nd annual Bronxtober Fest – offering a wide range of on-the-spot assistance for the crowd of over 80 Bronx residents. Thanks to our Fordham University and Manhattan College student volunteers, over 60 attendees enrolled in Housing Connect, NYC’s online affordable housing lottery.

With 13 UNHP Free Tax Preparation days behind us, 1,000 tax filers assisted and seven more service days in front of us, UNHP can proudly say that we are meeting, and possibly exceeding, our goals for our 2018 program.

Great partnerships, dedicated volunteers, a range of on-site services and a commitment to professional, accurate, informative free tax preparation were the hallmarks of our 10th anniversary for this successful program serving over 1,400 low-income Bronx residents.

UNHP’s Bronx Free Tax Preparation Program filed taxes for 1,501 people with 1,725 filed returns, trained 84 student volunteers, and delivered $1.9 million dollars of fee-free refunds back to the Bronx.

The UNHP Free Tax Preparation Program depends on the generosity of our college student volunteers. Students from Fordham University, Manhattan College and Lehman College take a 15 hour on-line training as well as an 8 hour in person training before they begin working with tax filers. Meet Maimouna, one of our 80 student volunteers, who have trained for the UNHP program in 2015.

Our blog has been a little quiet in 2015 and no we have not been hibernating – we have been so busy preserving distressed multifamily housing and delivering a wide range of financial services in the Northwest Bronx that we have not had time to brag about it!

UNHP's 2014 Free Tax Preparation Program was a resounding success! UNHP and our partners Ariva and Fordham Bedford Community Services helped clients receive $1.7 million in fee-free refunds, and access our wide range of financial education programs. Over 80 VITA trained student volunteers from Fordham University and Manhattan College provided the tax power for our program. As UNHP's 2014 tax season draws to a close, we reflect on the privilege of meeting and assisting over 1,400 residents in our community.

Veronica and Mavis were both in a despairing frame of mind about their financial struggles. One woman facing eviction and the other worried about how she was going to pay her tax bill, came to UNHP to file their taxes for free and breathed a sigh of relief with the results.