FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: DR. WAYNE SNEATH
DIRECTOR, ACADEMIC SERVICE-LEARNING CENTER
GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
616-234-4168
WSneath@grcc.edu
April 24, 2007

GRCC M3C Students Recognized for Service to Community  
Through Tax Preparation

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—GRCC’s MidWest Campus Compact Citizen-Scholar Fellows (M3Cs) were recognized for their service to the Kent County Tax Credit Coalition (KCTCC) at a volunteer appreciation dinner on April 23 at the Grand Rapids WestSide Complex.  M3C is an AmeriCorps program of GRCC's Academic Service-Learning Center designed to develop a peer network and provide support that enables students to serve as agents of civic engagement who respond effectively to local community issues.  KCTCC is a volunteer program which prepares tax returns for free and helps qualified Kent County taxpayers claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.

GRCC’s M3C students Robert Bacon, Patricia Garcia , Joel King, and Lorena Muniz served as the staff of the SouthEast Community Association (SECA) KCTCC tax preparation site where they helped to prepare taxes for low-income residents and returned $50,039 dollars in refunds to clients.  At over 17 community tax preparation sites in Kent County, KCTCC returned over
5.3 million dollars in tax refunds during the 2006-07 tax season. 

M3C students also recently completed a Civic Engagement dialogue on campus exploring the possible creation of KCTCC site on the GRCC campus.  M3C students will present their final proposal for a site in another dialogue session in Fall, 2007.

Faculty, staff or students interested in the M3C program may contact ASLC Community Liaison Mike Schavey for more information.

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