Nicole Maroutsos is a music supervisor at PlayNetwork. Here, she shares how Emerging Leaders are ensuring our Free Tax Prep Program is known city wide.

I think everyone can agree: filing taxes is confusing.  For thousands of people living in King County, the process is even more complicated due to language, disability, age or income barriers. Luckily, United Way of King County has been offering a Free Tax Preparation Program since 2003. This service helps Seattleites who can’t afford professional tax preparation. It’s a way of putting money directly in their pockets, as many are unaware that they are eligible for tax credits and refunds.

As awesome as this service is, many still don’t know about it, so this month, 20 Emerging Leaders readied materials to get the word out!  We prepared mailers with posters, fliers and other documents to send to hundreds of partners around the city. We want eligible participants aware of all the walk-in neighborhood sites all around the city, including libraries and Goodwill stores. We also stuffed materials for the 1,000+ tax volunteers (!) who will assist individuals this tax season. These IRS-certified volunteers offer tax help as well as help connecting people to public benefits, financial counseling and more.

In 2016, United Way of King County plans to help 22,000 low-income people with their taxes. We were happy to help get the word out this fantastic resource. Want to help as well? Sign up to volunteer!