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Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 29. You won’t want to miss celebrity speaker Vern Yip, designer and host of HGTV’s Deserving Design and judge of Design Star, talk design and help Tampa Bay meet the dreams of local families.
Vern joins past celebrity keynote speakers at Art of Giving, such as fashion guru Clinton Kelly and Devil Wears Prada author Lauren Weisberger. In addition to the night of design, the event will feature the popular Power of the Purse fashion handbag auction, silent auction and live auction.
Proceeds from Art of Giving benefits the United Way Summer Care program- providing childcare and financial literacy education to working families.
Tickets start at $100 each. Sponsorships available. Call (813) 274-0901 or visit www.unitedwaytampabay.org/artofgiving2010 for more information.
Sixth Annual Art of Giving
Caring with Style
April 29, 2010
5:30 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.
A La Carte Pavilion
4050 Dana Shores Drive, Tampa
During the 6 p.m. news hour on Fox 13 this evening, the Prosperity Campaign’s free tax preparation service will be featured. Be sure to watch and see how you (or someone you know) may qualify. Thanks, Fox 13, for focusing on this important story.
Share this news story on Facebook and Twitter if you can.
An important part of our American democracy will arrive in every mailbox in the country by March. Census 2010 counts every man, woman and child in the country, is required by the U.S. Constitution once every 10 years, and is due back to the Census Bureau on April 1, 2010.
The census is important for many reasons. Based on the numbers, more than $300 billion annually in government funding is distributed for critical community services. Census data guides local decision-makers on where to build hospitals, roads, child-care and senior citizen centers, schools and more. And the census numbers determine how many representatives each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The census is easy, important and safe. Personal data is protected under federal law. It contains only 10 questions, one of the shortest in history. You can see the questions at the Census 2010 Web site.
United Way of Tampa Bay is doing its part. A community fair will be held at the Sulphur Springs Resource Center, which has been designated as a “Be Counted” site, to build awareness of the importance of the census.
Watch for your census and mail it back by April 1, 2010. It’s important to our community that everyone be counted.
More than thirty sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties are now open and offering free tax preparation and filing to working families and individuals. They can hold on to more of what they earn, which helps them along the road to financial stability.
Anyone who earned less than $49,000 in 2009 may be eligible for up to $5,600.00 in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – and the tax preparation is free.
Eligibility requirements for the 2009 EITC are:
- Families with three or more qualifying children who earn less than $43,279 (or less than $48,279 married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $5,657.
- Families with two qualifying children who earn less than $40,295 (or less than $45,295 married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $5,028.
- Families with one qualifying child who earn less than $35,463 (or less than $40,463 married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $3,043.
- Workers without a qualifying child who earn less than $13,440 (or less than $18,440 married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $457.
Another credit sometimes overlooked is the Child Tax Credit, which is up to $1,000 per qualifying child. For tax year 2009, the minimum income threshold needed to qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit has been reduced from $12,050 to $3,000.00, so more families will be eligible.
The free tax preparation service is offered by partners of the Prosperity Campaigns of Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, including United Way of Tampa Bay. All tax preparers are trained volunteers. Click here for hours and locations or call 2-1-1.
If you know anyone who would benefit, spread the word! Help low- and moderate-income working families and individuals hold on to more of what they earn.
The first caller was a woman from St. Petersburg who wanted to donate $10. The next call was from a Bartow man with a $100 donation. The pace quickened, and the 18 telephones rang non-stop for two and a half hours.
The phone bank was the brainstorm of our friends at WFLA NewsChannel 8. The cause was Haitian earthquake relief. The volunteers were from United Way of Tampa Bay, and the donors were the caring community of Tampa Bay.
During the January 15 telethon we collected nearly $30,000 from 551 people to help with recovery in the ravaged country, which was struck by a 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12. More people than I care to think about lost lives, health and loved ones. Hundreds of thousands are afraid to enter buildings for fear of aftershocks or because the buildings collapsed.
Our corporate partners have responded too, with generous donations to help the relief efforts with funds, supplies and volunteers.
The world responded to this tragedy with support and concern. Donations have poured into many organizations. Those entrusted to United Way will be used for relief and recovery and are critically necessary one to get Haitians back on their feet – hopefully in a more safe, stable and nurturing environment.
A Tampa donor wrote on his check, “What better organization than United Way to be certain that these dollars will be put to the best use.” I am once again gratified at your trust in us and humbled by your generosity. Whether it’s helping a neighbor or a neighboring country, the Tampa Bay community comes together time and again. That’s what I call living united.
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