SOUTH BEND, Ind. – As the United Way of St. Joseph County embarks on a ten-year journey to reduce poverty by 25,000 individuals by 2025, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or VITA, as it is often called, will play an integral role in reaching this goal. From 2013-2014 the VITA program provided services to more than 3200 households, was responsible for bringing over $4 million of processed refunds back to St. Joseph County and helped low-income taxpayers save over $1 million in tax preparation fees.

Recently, 1^st Source Foundation, the philanthropic arm of 1^st Source Bank, provided a grant of nearly $25,000 in support of United Way’s VITA program. The funds will primarily be used to increase marketing and advertising efforts in an attempt to reach, and ultimately serve, as many low-income, disabled and senior taxpayers as possible.

As a key partner in the betterment of St. Joseph County, 1^st Source Bank continues to be a model of what it means to “LIVE UNITED.” As United Way prepares for next year’s tax season, the organization plans to make the absolute most of the grant money and bring even more tax refund money to qualified taxpayers in St. Joseph County. At the close of the 2015 tax season Dawn Chapla, Director of Labor and Financial Stability and Rachel Bradley, Director of Mission Advancement plan to work closely with 1^st Source Bank’s senior marketing staff to report record-breaking outcomes in our community.