EPISODE 27- Volunteers needed for JOCO Vita - Free tax preparation services

Episode 26 – Free Tax Help for Seniors in Southern Oregon with JOCO Vita

In this episode, Jamie Callahan talks with Kathie Sauders from JOCO Vita, a volunteer-driven nonprofit providing free income tax preparation for seniors and low-income residents across Josephine County.

Kathie shares the history of JOCO Vita, how the program helps hundreds of local residents each year, and why they’re looking for new volunteers before the upcoming tax season.

You’ll learn:

• Who qualifies for free tax help and how to get started
• How JOCO Vita makes filing simple, stress-free, and 100% confidential
• What volunteer roles are available — no prior experience required
• How volunteers are trained and supported every step of the way

💡 Whether you’re retired, love numbers, or just want to give back to your community, volunteering with JOCO Vita is a meaningful way to make a difference this spring.

👉 Volunteer or learn more:
🌐 www.JOCOVita.org

📞 541-326-8182

At Team Senior™, our mission is to guide you and support you through the maze of Southern Oregon Long-Term Care.

📞 For Team Senior resources, call: 541-295-8230

Or visit our website for more information: https://www.teamsenior.org/

Transcript

Interview with Kathy from Joco VITA

Jamie Callahan: Hi, this is Jamie Callahan with the Team Senior Podcast. Our goal is to simplify aging. Society grooms us to plan for retirement, but what about life beyond retirement, where the rubber meets the road? Perhaps you've had a stroke, or you've been diagnosed with cancer, or maybe you're forgetting things and now you have dementia. That's our area of expertise, and we are here to share our insight.

And now, the Team Senior Podcast.

Jamie: Hi, this is Jamie Callahan with the Team Senior Podcast, and I am in the studio today with a program that is available in Josephine County that is absolutely remarkable. And we do get phone calls about this—people asking for this service all the time. So I'm super excited to have you here today. Kathy's with Joco VITA. Kathy, I'm gonna let you talk a little bit about yourself and the program, Joco VITA. Tell us how it got started and how you got involved.

Kathy: I became involved about 39 or 40 years ago. It started in Josephine County as the AARP Tax Aid program, and I joined it back then as a way to keep abreast of tax laws and also to help individuals. I had been preparing my own taxes and felt like I really needed to keep on top of all the rule changes, and that was a good way to do both.

Jamie: That's wonderful. Owning Team Senior, we get calls about absolutely everything that seniors could ever possibly need or want. And a question that we get every year around the February to April timeframe is, "Do you have someone that can help me prepare my taxes that is either affordable or free?" So how does your program work?

Kathy: I should also add, since I didn't say it in the first part, that AARP Tax Aid is how it started, but we transitioned out of AARP about three years ago. We are no longer part of AARP Tax Aid, but we still do free income tax services.

Jamie: Free income tax services. That's the big word that everybody loves to hear is "free." We are going to create another podcast where we take a much deeper dive into what Joco VITA does and how they provide free services for seniors around tax preparation. But Kathy today came into the studio because they're in need of something. They need volunteers. So let's talk about that a little bit. Who and how would somebody get involved with Joco VITA?

Kathy: We have a whole variety of ways that people can get involved in our program. And our primary need right now is to get some new volunteers who are interested in tax preparation, because we really are at our limit right now with the volunteers we have as far as the number of people we can serve. And we really wanna bump up that number of people that we serve. And having someone join us as a volunteer tax preparer would be pretty awesome. We currently have about five or six people who are just starting their training this weekend. And so if people wanna hook into our webpage, which is JocoVITA.org, then there's information there about how to join us. And it doesn't require any knowledge at this point, other than a desire to help people and perhaps an interest in numbers and that kind of thing, because we provide all of the training necessary to become a volunteer from scratch.

Jamie: That's so awesome. What a wonderful opportunity for someone that wants to jump in and help. I know that, like my husband, for example, he's not really a CPA, but he is a controller, so he manages all the money for some large companies in Southern Oregon. This would be the perfect opportunity for him when he retires to continue to use his brain around numbers, assisting people that really need the help.

Kathy: Perfect. Those are the kinds of people that we're looking for, but then any housewife who just has an interest in numbers and helping people—everyone's welcome.

Jamie: Sure. So we have discussed that you don't have to have any previous qualifications. Talk to us about the training a little bit. What does that training look like?

Kathy: So the training is mostly—we have a combination. People can work at their own pace. We have a whole online-based training system that takes people from square one all the way up to square ten or whatever, and starts from the very basics and moves on through. At the same time, however, we have mentors that help everybody so that they're not at sea while they're out there doing things online. And then we have a variety of weekend sessions where we're in person helping people muddle through some of the more questionable things that they may have.

Jamie: Sure. How long does it take to go through the training?

Kathy: It sounds scary because there's a lot of hours involved with it. But then again, since you work at your own pace, then you can go as fast or as slow as you need to do to absorb the material. We usually start—now I mentioned that we're starting this weekend—and it usually goes all the way through December with the brand new people. And then we have some sessions in January bringing back all of our seasoned preparers as a group and doing some refreshers with that.

Jamie: All right, so we wanna make sure that everybody knows how to get in touch with you if they want to volunteer. So the website again is JocoVITA.org. It's J-O-C-O-V-I-T-A.org. Again, Joco VITA, like vitamin—JocoVITA.org. And if you have questions or you would prefer to talk with someone, you can call them at 541-223-9597. Again, 541-223-9597. Keep in mind that when it's the off-season, you might not get a return phone call right away, but that is a good number that you can reach them at. And of course, like all things, if you have any questions or you have forgotten the phone number, you can always just call Team Senior and we'll help you get connected with whatever it is that you need.

Kathy, thank you so much for coming in the studio today.

Kathy: Thank you for having us.

Jamie: Yeah, you got it. I really hope that you're able to get some volunteers as a result of this.

Kathy: Perfect.

Jamie: Have a wonderful day. Thank you for listening to the Team Senior Podcast. We're here every week sharing new and relevant information. Remember that we're just a phone call away. Team Senior can be reached at 541-295-8230. Again, 541-295-8230. Until next time, this is Jamie Callahan.