April 15, 2008
Is there anyone who doesn’t want a tax refund? Three students,
all seniors in the Tobin College of Business, taking Assistant
Professor Nina Dorata’s Advanced Accounting II (ACC 4244) course,
have made this wish more of a possibility for 112 clients at St.
John’s Bread and Life who they assisted with tax return
preparation.
Nina Dorata, Ph.D., C.P.A., an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Accounting and Taxation at the Peter J. Tobin College
of Business, offered this service opportunity to the students as
part of the course this spring semester. By helping prepare tax
returns for Bread and Life clients at St. John’s Bread and Life in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, the St. John’s students have
secured for these clients nearly $35,000 in returns from the state
and federal governments. Additionally, filing their tax returns
qualifies Bread and Life clients for the rebate checks that come
from the Fiscal Stimulus Package passed by Congress.
In 2006, the University entered into a unique relationship with
St. John’s Bread and Life, acquiring the program from the Diocese
of Brooklyn. To support this partnership, the Department of
Academic
Service-Learning has begun placing St. John’s students and
faculty in service opportunities as well as future research at
Bread and Life. Students will support new services such as tax
preparation, services offered in addition to Bread and Life’s
traditional programs of serving meals as well as offering medical
and legal support. In mid-February 2008, Lorrette Ayers, Assistant
Director of St. John’s Bread and Life, started to bring groups of
St. John’s students to Bread and Life several times per week. To
date, more than 80 students have expressed interest in volunteering
at Bread and Life. Ayers has met with over 30 administrative
leaders and faculty to speak about the program and create more
projects. Currently, St. John’s Bread and Life is preparing to move
to a new facility in June 2008. The new facility located at
795 Lexington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY is nearly double the size of the
current location in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, providing
much needed space for social service activities.
Although Dorata has offered this opportunity to students before
here at the University, this is the first time she worked with
Lorrette Ayers and Bread and Life. Once students volunteered for
the project, Dorata met with them to review what kind of tax
returns the clients would have. She noted that, “Students have
already had one course in tax preparation before this course, which
gives them a basis for doing the work with clients.” Her goals for
the students were clear: “I wanted to give them practical
experience in the field of accounting; to make their education come
alive; and to help them better understand the Vincentian Mission of
the University.”
In addition to the practical experience, Dorata explained that,
“Students get what I call ‘psychic income’ which means doing
something you feel really good about. I hope that students will
want to experience this again and again in the future.” She
continued, “Many commercial organizations recognize their
responsibility to help society and expect their employees to assist
with service projects. These students will be ready and considered
valuable attributes on the part of their employers.”
In reflecting on the experience at Bread and Life, Alex Torres,
one of the student volunteers said, “I became more confident with
the work and the clients as time went on and I learned how to
better work with a team in order to achieve a goal. I’m bilingual
and that proved to be a definite advantage as I listened to the
clients’ stories and tried to determine how best to deal with each
one’s situation. The experience opened my eyes to see another side
of life.” Cindy Jairam, another student volunteer, recalled that,
“I was very nervous at first when I realized that I would be
working individually with a client, as I thought we’d work as a
group. But then I relaxed and used what skills I had to help the
clients. They thanked me numerous times and I felt so good about
that. It motivates me to consider this kind of work in the future.”
Victerine Singh said of her student volunteer experience “I am so
grateful for the experience I gained. I would not have learned as
much about tax preparation if I had not gone to Bread and Life. I
also learned more about dealing with people, that showing patience
and smiling make a difference in how a client responds.”
Describing what the students accomplished, Ayers said, “We are
so grateful for the work of Dr. Dorata and her students. She
prepared them well for this endeavor, and they represented St.
John’s University with maturity, professionalism and a genuine
respect for those served. Both guests and staff have expressed
gratitude and appreciation for their contributions. Plans are
already being made to set up this program as a permanent fixture at
Bread and Life each year.”
Rita Trucios, Director of Social Services at St. John’s Bread
and Life commented on the experience of having St. John’s students
on site at Bread and Life. “This year St. John’s Bread and Life was
able to provide our neighbors with free tax return assistance
because St. John’s students volunteered to work with us. This is
the first time we could offer this service in the evening. Students
came prepared, on time, unafraid to ask questions and open to
meeting our participants who varied in age, physical ability and
different life stresses. The students were always professional in
their presentation and used their sense of humor appropriately,
making this tax season a pleasant experience for participants and
staff. Great job!”
Dorata concluded of this year’s program, “Perhaps one of the
greatest benefits of such work is that the clients know these are
students from St. John’s University and that knowledge enhances the
clients’ appreciation of what St. John’s does for the community.
It’s not only about academics…it also means the University reaches
out to and helps the community.”
For further information about the Bread and Life Program
contact:
Lorrette Ayers, M.S.
Bent Hall, Garden Level, Room 18
(718) 990-7904