Dear Volunteers: Thank you for your efforts in supporting the City of Sacramentos volunteer projects and programs. We have some exciting events you can enjoy with family and friends to kick off 2014. Come celebrate what Sacramento has to offer with a variety of opportunities for you to choose from, everything from special events at the Sacramento Zoo to getting involved with winter pruning at the Natomas Rose Garden. With tax season around the corner, there will be many who need assistance in tax preparation. Come train and help low income individuals and families get the new tax year started on the right foot. You can view our listings on our web site at sacvolunteers.org Twitter: twitter/sacvolunteers Facebook: facebook/sacvolunteers ________________________________________ Featured Opportunity Mulch Madness - The Sacramento Zoo seeks 10 volunteers to help out at the Zoo (located at 3930 W. Land Park Drive Sacramento, CA 95822) this coming Monday January 27th and Tuesday January 28th, from 8am- 2pm, both days. Volunteers will help move a large delivery of bark from a truck to the playground area. This effort will require a lot of shoveling and hard work, but it will vastly improve the playground. Snacks and water will be provided. To sign up please contact Brooke Coe at [email protected]. Volunteer Opportunities Adopt-a-Park – Natomas Rose Garden – Come out and help with the winter pruning of the roses on Saturday, January 25th from 9 am to 12 pm. Volunteers will need to bring gloves and pruners. The Natomas Rose Garden has been maintained entirely by volunteers since it was built in 2005. It is located at the South Natomas Community Park, 2921 Truxel Road, Sacramento. For more information about the garden visit: NatomasRoseGarden.org and if you’d like to help please contact Marni at (916) 359-7411 or [email protected]. Museum Day at Sacramento Zoo - The Sacramento Zoo (located at 3930 W. Land Park Drive Sacramento, CA 95822) seeks volunteers to help out with Museum Day festivities on Saturday February 1st. Please note your top 2 volunteer choices and shift times from below when contacting Jeanette: Café’ Helper: Shift 11am – 3pm. Help to maintain lines inside our Kampala Café, wiping down tables, picking up trash, etc. Carousel Helper: Three shifts to choose from 9am – 1pm, 11am – 3pm, 1pm – 5pm. Help to maintain the carousel line. Exhibit Monitor: Two shifts to choose from 9am – 1pm and 1pm – 5pm. Monitoring a specific animal exhibit for crowd control. Each volunteer shift is approximately 4 hours long. Museum Day will be extremely busy for parking and drop offs, so please arrive 30 minutes prior to your shift to allow yourself plenty of time to get to your location. For more information and to volunteer please contact Jeanette Wason at 916-808-7264 or [email protected]. Tax Season Resources Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) Free Tax Software: Individuals who wish to do their own taxes without assistance may utilize the special portal for the City of Sacramento with free software. This site allows taxpayers to complete federal and up to 2 state returns for free, electronically file, and have their refund directly deposited in their account. This service is provided through the City of Sacramento City-wide Volunteer Program in partnership with United Way Worldwide and Goodwill. To access the portal, please visit: myfreetaxes/cityofsacramento. Income is limited to a maximum of $58,000 for 2013 in order to file for free. The City of Sacramento offers free volunteer tax preparation at community centers. To find a location near you visit our web site: portal.cityofsacramento.org/HR/Volunteer-Opportunities/VITA Questions? Contact Vishal Ream-Rao at (916) 808-7184 or [email protected]. Training Events Volunteer Tax Aides - The deadline of February 1 is approaching to become a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteer but there is still time to certify! Join us this tax season with the City of Sacramento’s award-winning program. Volunteers provide free tax preparation assistance to low-income individuals and families. The VITA program is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs developed nationally. Volunteers receive free training from the IRS in basic tax law and must pass an open book test in order to be authorized to prepare returns. Classroom training will be scheduled in the fall. Volunteers who have a background in math, accounting, bookkeeping, engineering, economics, or related fields have been very successful in completing the training and passing the test. Community college and undergraduate students in accounting, finance, economics and pre-law have participated as well as retired professionals and those seeking to develop their careers or looking for a career change. Training and testing will also be provided on-line throughout the fall and winter. Training needs to be completed by January 18, 2014. Tax assistance is scheduled from late January 2014 to April 15, 2014. The City plans to host free tax preparation sites at the Hart Senior Center, Pannell/Meadowview Community Center, Oak Park Community Center, the George Sim Community Center and the South Natomas Community Center. If you have an interest in learning how to become a VITA volunteer for the City’s program, please contact Mary Lynn Perry, Volunteer Coordinator at (916) 808-8317 or email: [email protected] or Vishal Ream-Rao at [email protected] or (916) 808-7184. CERT Training - The Sacramento Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. This is the entry level qualification for the Sacramento Community Emergency Response Team, and involves training over a three week period, with Tuesday night and Saturday sessions. Due to the popularity of the program and limited seating, we are seeking attendees who can confirm they will be able to attend all sessions. All students must complete an application on our web site (sfdcert/Join_CERT.html) prior to registration. The class schedule for the Sacramento CERT Level III Basic Course is as follows: Session 1 - Disaster Preparedness - Tue, February 25, 2014, 6pm – 10pm Session 2 - Fire Suppression/Search and Rescue - Sat, March 1, 2014, 8am – 5pm Session 3 - Team Organization/Disaster Psychology - Tue, March 4, 2014, 6pm – 10pm Session 4 - Disaster Medical 1/2 - Sat, March 8, 2014, 8am – 5pm Session 5 - Terrorism/Review - Tue, March 11, 2014, 6pm – 10pm Session 6 - Graduation Drill - Sat, March 15, 2014, 8am – 5pm Sessions 1-5 will be held at Sacramento Fire Headquarters at 5770 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento. Session 6 will be held at 3230 J Street, Sacramento. If you have any questions, please email info@sfdcert
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 15:39:09 +0000
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