LIFT

LIFT-Cambridge and LIFT-Somerville will provide free tax preparation services beginning February 1, 2010, where IRS VITA certified LIFT volunteers will be available to help Cambridge and Somerville community prepare tax returns electronically and identify their eligibility for tax credits.

After losing her job in March 2007, Maria Selamoglu was struggling to get back into the workforce. With no income and little savings due to a recent divorce, she was falling behind on her rent and utility payments. She found LIFT-Somerville and immediately began working with volunteers to update her résumé and expand her job search.  With LIFT-Somerville's assistance, she soon secured part-time work at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Chris Whitney first contacted LIFT on the advice of his friend, former LIFT-Cambridge Summer Director Hari Ramesh. Chris, a Vassar College sociology major, had "an interest in what makes people poor and what people who have more resources can do and do about poverty." He wanted to take his coursework in social welfare policy and education and apply it outside the classroom, and Hari’s account of his work with LIFT seemed to offer that opportunity. The former camp counselor and mentor for high school students in the Poughkeepsie community near Vassar was also intrigued by the opportunity to work with adult clients, saying, "Most college students only get to work with kids." Knowing he would make strong connections with experienced social workers at the Cambridge Multi-Service Center clinched his decision and soon Chris was headed to Cambridge to begin volunteering.