Pictured, from left, Grace College senior Emma McGlocklin, a business marketing major, welcoming a VITA client at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

 WINONA LAKE — At the conclusion of its ninth year of service to Kosciusko County residents, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program has returned more than $2 million to residents of Kosciusko County. This includes $356,000 in returns this year alone, the highest amount in local VITA history.

Since 2010, the William P. Gordon Institute for Enterprise Development at the Grace College School of Business and United Way of Kosciusko County have sponsored the IRS-endorsed VITA program in our county. VITA offers free tax preparation to elderly, disabled and lower-income individuals filing a basic tax return. Volunteers, including Grace College business students and professors and certified public accountants, have made the service possible in our community.

“We are thrilled to have served 343 individuals and families in our community this year,” said Al Grossnickle, associate professor of business at Grace College and director of the William P. Gordon Institute for Enterprise Development.  “Reaching the $2 million mark is especially exciting. It’s testimony to the personal impact VITA has made on hundreds of people over the past nine years.” 

Grossnickle went on to credit “our tremendous volunteers, DePuy and Lake City Bank employees and the partnership of the United Way” for the success of VITA.

“We know that we are providing an important service to our neighbors because they continue to come for tax assistance in growing numbers,” said Grossnickle. “VITA is a rewarding and beneficial program for everyone involved – clients, students, faculty and volunteers. We’re already looking forward to next year.”

For more information about VITA, including information on becoming a volunteer tax preparer, call Al Grossnickle at (574) 372-5100, ext. 6091.

The attached photo pictures Grace College senior Emma McGlocklin, a business marketing major, welcoming a VITA client at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.  VITA volunteers like Emma assisted 343 people with their tax returns this year.