MEDA Spring 2012

About Me:

Hello everyone! My name is Xu Chen, at school my professors and friends usually call me Nansie. I am a sophomore double major in Finance and Accounting at the University of San Francisco. I was born and lived in Guangzhou, China for 13 years, my parents and I moved to the United Stated in 2004, and my family is settled in Hayward, a city in the Bay Area. This is my first year participating in the Public Service Internship Program(PSIP), and this semester I will be starting my internship at the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA). I am very excited and looking forward working at MEDA, my goal is to contribute my best efforts to the organization, ultimately to create a positive impact to our community.

Introduction to the blog:

Welcome to the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) section. I am currently interning as a tax preparer in the Free Tax Preparation Program at MEDA. I will introduce the background information about MEDA and the proceduce of becoming a certified tax preparer, and I will share my personal working experiences from this internship in MEDA. Thank you!

About Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)

MEDA is a community-based, local economic development corporation located in the Mission District of San Francisco. For over 38 years MEDA has worked to improve economic and social conditions in the neighborhood by stimulating investment, enhancing the business environment, and creating jobs for area residents. MEDA is committed to maintaining the cultural identity and resources of the Mission District.

Website: http://medasf.org/english/

Mission Statement

The mission of MEDA is to achieve economic justice for San Francisco’s low- to moderate-income Latino families through asset development.  Asset Development is the process of encouraging and supporting individuals and families to develop, accumulate and manage personal, social and material (especially financial) assets.

Vision Statement

In the long-term, we envision generations of Latino families that are a part of vibrant, diverse, proud and forward-thinking communities in which residents own their homes and businesses, and are actively engaged in the civic life of their neighborhoods and the institutions that affect their lives. We see these families as having sufficient assets to provide them and future generations with the opportunity to call San Francisco their permanent home.

Core Values

In working to achieve our mission, MEDA has identified several core values that we strive to reflect in all our activities. Our core values are:

  • Equity and fairness. We value equity and fairness in how we work together, in our relations with our constituencies and in the society we seek to help create.
  • Relevance. We value work that addresses the actual needs of our constituencies, ensuring that our services add real value and are provided in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
  • A healthy workplace. We value sound conditions for all staff, Board and others who participate in our place of work. We strive to make sure that their experience is positive, fair, sustainable and fulfilling.
  • Leadership. We value leadership, the quality of influencing others – through beliefs, ethics, character, vision, commitment, knowledge, wisdom, skills, innovation and initiative – to help achieve economic justice for our constituencies. Leadership can be exercised by everyone, regardless of their position and authority. MEDA seeks to foster leadership within our constituencies. We also aim to foster leadership among our staff, Board, and supporters, and to exercise leadership in the communities in which we work.
  • Mission District. We value the Mission District. The Mission has been our home and base of operations for many years. Its people, and geographic, social and political dynamics, have strongly shaped who we are and what we do. While our focus is now broader, we actively recognize the importance of the Mission.

Website: http://medasf.org/english/about/

Free Tax Preparation Program

MEDA’s VITA Site Free Tax Preparation Program serves low-income families in San Francisco by providing:

  • Free tax return preparation year round
  • Benefits screening & assessment for other related services
  • Self employed tax education

Plaza Adelante, MEDA’s home, serves as the program’s headquarters and largest site. MEDA coordinates four additional tax sites at SF Human Services Agency offices throughout San Francisco’s low-income neighborhoods.

Our Free Tax Preparation Program is staffed through dedicated volunteers from banks, partner organizations, and the community.

MEDA also offers free assistance to low income and Spanish speaking students for filling the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) and  ITIN* application services.

My supervisors are Dairo Romero, he is the Director of Programs; and for the VITA Site Tax Program, Graciela Reyna, she is the Tax Program Lead. In the Free Tax Preparation Program, I am also working with other volunteers to help the clients prepare their tax returns.

Becoming a Certified Tax Preparer  

In order to become a legal tax preparer under VITA Site Tax Program, the first step is to be certified. The Free Tax Preparation Program is part of a program name Volunteer Income Tax (VITA).   Every year everyone is required to take a Certification in order to be able to volunteer preparing taxes.  Firstly, you have to take the online training at www.irs.gov/app/vita. Then create your own account and take the test. Start with the Volunteer Standard of Conduct Test, this test is important for the voluteer to take because everyone volunteer must follow the voluteer standard of conduct during the tax preparation; if any voluteer violates the conduct, the consequence is you will be removed from all VITA/TCE programs and desigration on the IRS volunteer registry to bar future work. Secondly, you will take the Basic level certification test and after that it is possible take the intermediate level. Additionally, you can use a Practice Lab in order to complete returns from your test.

My Tasks

The tax return filing service in MEDA officially started on January 21, 2012, and my first day was started on January 23, 2012. The main tasks for tax preparers including me are to provide tax payers a free tax preparation of Federal and CA state returns for 2011, and to assistance claiming working families credit.  For example, the service begins with welcome clients and inform them about services; and then, I must review page 1 and 2  of intake form by interviewing the client and clarify the unsure responses on the IRS form. When the form is completed, I begin the tax return by entering the information in Taxwise. During the filing, I need to enter cliens’ information accurately, clerify questions when necessary. For the last stage of the tax return filing, I need to ask my supervisor to do a quality review the tax return, it is important to have the supervisor double check the return in case if error occurs. Lastly, I will print the copy of tax return to the clients, make sure to create an e-file and update status as ready to send to the IRS.

My Experiences

First of all, I am very honored to be a part  of the Free Tax Preparation Program in MEDA. It is a great and valuable working experience of being a tax preparer, because I am able to help tax payers who were low income families to file their 2011 tax returns. Since MEDA’s mission statement is “To achieve economic justice for San Francisco’s low-to-moderate-income Latino families through asset development,” I have the duty to prepare accurate tax returns to get all the credits and refunds that the clients’ deserve. So far, we only two weeks left for the tax season, and we are at 87% of our goal of 3,000 tax returns and close to the 4 million goal of refunds back to the community. What a fantastic result! Through helping the low-income tax payers, I have realized their hardship and struggle to support families with the little paid, some of them even have to work multiple jobs. In fact, I begin to learn to be thankful for what I have right now, and inspired to a better person contributing more to the community. Although I was able to provide accurate tax preparation to my clients, but since almost all of the clients were Spanish speakers, I was having a hard time to communicate with them. Luckily, there are many Spanish speaker volunteers helped me to translate.

88 thoughts on “MEDA Spring 2012

    1. Home Depot is the biggest home improvement company in the United States. It wants to hear customers’ opinions regarding their recent visit to a Home Depot store across the country. Enter the Home Depot customer survey on the official portal, homedepotcomsurvey.website and whoever participates in the survey will get a $5000 gift card for free. Sharing your response means you are helping the company improve its services.

  1. JCPenney Survey You will get 15% off your next JCPenney bill if you have followed all of the above requirements. To be eligible for the discounts, you must answer the survey questions. The incentives are offered as a thank you for participating in the survey.

    Recall that the incentive for completing this survey could change at any time. You can find out exactly what your “Survey Reward” is on your receipt. For more information, please refer to your receipt.

  2. JCPenney Survey The primary motto of the JCPenney Feedback program (Www.Talktojcpenney.Com Survey) is to grab all the positives and negatives for the improvement of the store in various aspects.

    Every survey taker has a fantastic opportunity to win 15% OFF coupons from JCPenney. As a result, you may get the essentials at a discounted price.

  3. Then create your own account and take the test. Start with the Volunteer Standard of Conduct Test, this test is important for the voluteer to take because everyone volunteer must follow the voluteer standard of conduct during the tax preparation; if any voluteer violates the conduct, the consequence is you will be removed from all VITA/TCE programs and desigration on the IRS volunteer registry to bar future work. Secondly, you will take the Basic level certification test and after that it is possible take the intermediate level. Additionally, you can use a Practice Lab in order to complete returns from your test. Experience-Cloud-Consultant Exam Questions

  4. One of the American fast-food chains that focuses on seafood is Long John Silver’s. They deal with the fresh supply of salmon, clams, cod, and other seafood from the greatest location—the ocean—and serve a variety of seafood dishes. They have a ton of delicious meals on their menu that are too good to resist. In a food business like this, maintaining the patrons’ loyalty and satisfaction is crucial. Customer service can be improved by using the MyLongJohnSilversExperience.com survey, which is an effective tool.

  5. For many people, watching adult videos https://nullkong.com/categories/step-fantasy/ can be part of their healthy lifestyle sexual life. Research shows that sexual arousal and stimulation can promote better blood circulation and strengthen muscle tone in the pelvic areas, which in turn can reduce the risk of developing certain diseases, such as prostatitis or even some types of cancer.

  6. The purpose of the Krogerfeedback survey is to gauge different facets of consumer satisfaction. It covers elements including product quality, store cleanliness, employee conduct, and general satisfaction with the shopping experience.
    https://krgerfeedback.store/

  7. Decorating your home with paintings made from tempered glass https://dimalin.com/product-category/wall-art/ is not only a way to add sophistication and beauty to the interior, but also to add uniqueness and individuality to it. Here are a few reasons why you should pay attention to this type of decor: Aesthetics and beauty: Tempered glass paintings have a special charm and beauty. They are able to turn an ordinary space into a work of art, adding bright colors, play of light and shadow. Uniqueness and originality: Each tempered glass painting is unique. The handmade work of the master gives each piece its own unique character and individuality, which makes it especially valuable in the interior.

  8. There are many benefits to running your own blog https://kocmetikadlyajenhin.blogspot.com/2024/06/abc.html that can be beneficial for both personal development and professional growth. A blog allows you to express your thoughts, ideas and feelings. You can experiment with different content formats (texts, photos, videos). Regularly writing posts improves your writing skills. A blog helps you learn to express your thoughts clearly and convincingly.

  9. The ShopRite commercial runs from Friday through Sunday (but the dates vary depending on where you reside).Set aside time to plan your shopping and get your coupons ready for the first look at the ShopRite weekly ad, which will feature some amazing prices! Please check back often to ensure that you are seeing all of the ShopRite weekly savings available.
    https://shopriteweeklyad.shop/

  10. Хотите повысить видимость вашего веб-сайта? Мы предлагаем услугу публикации обратных ссылок, которая поможет улучшить позиции вашего сайта в поисковых системах. Наши специалисты подберут качественные сайты https://larisablog.mobirisesite.com/page7.html с высокими показателями домена для размещения обратных ссылок. Это поможет привлечь целевую аудиторию и увеличить трафик на ваш сайт. Обратные ссылки – это проверенный способ улучшить SEO и повысить авторитет вашего бренда в сети.

  11. Aldi’s Weekly Promo! If you shop at Aldi, come back here every week to see the latest ad or to see a sneak peek at some forthcoming bargains with the ✳️ Aldi ad preview.

    You can find a lot of Aldi deals this week or some upcoming specials with the ✳️ Aldi Weekly Ad. Typically, the Aldi weekly ad will be posted after the Aldi in-store advertisement.Although the Aldi advertisement does not allow us to combine coupons with in-store specials, many things are nonetheless very affordable without them!

  12. Rooted in bloxstrap San Francisco’s Mission District, MEDA is advancing a national equity movement by building Latino prosperity, community ownership and civic power.

  13. Players will face a number of challenges as they progress through Baldur’s Gate 3’s Gauntlet of Shar. One of these challenges is the Soft Step Trial Bg3 , which fans must accomplish by sneaking past several mysterious characters. This article describes many strategies that players can try to deal with the Soft-Step Trial in Baldur’s Gate 3, one of which totally trivializes the attempt.

  14. Women’s cosmetics are an integral part of the daily lives of many women around the world. It includes a variety of skin, hair, nail care products, as well as decorative products that help create the perfect makeup. Cosmetics https://vandayblonska.blogspot.com/2024/06/ager.html help highlight natural beauty, take care of skin health and express individuality. In this article we will look at the main categories of women’s cosmetics, their history and current trends.

  15. Shoppers at Home Depot, visit this page every week to see the most recent ✳️ weekly advertisement or to see a sneak peek of some upcoming bargains with the Home Depot Weekly Ad preview.

    Ad images are solely for informational and illustrative purposes. Dates, goods, and prices can change and aren’t available at every shop. For precise information about prices, items, dates, and discounts, please visit your local merchant. Trademarks and logos belong to the people that own them.

  16. Bloxstrap is an open-source, alternative bootstrapper for Roblox. It lets you customize your Roblox experience with mods, flags, themes.

  17. Whether you need a roof repair, replacement, or a new installation, a trusted roofing company in Bloomington will offer you expert craftsmanship, using top-grade materials to ensure your home is protected from the elements. Look for a company with a proven track record of AMI Roofing, excellent customer reviews, and a commitment to delivering timely and efficient service. Their team should be knowledgeable and equipped to handle all types of roofing systems, ensuring a durable and aesthetically pleasing result.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *