United Way of Marion County will celebrate its second year results from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program with a 291% increase over last year on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 3 p.m. with community partners at United Way.

With only 10 IRS trained volunteers, United Way was able to provide free tax assistance to more than 1,000 Marion County families of which 827 electronically filed their taxes bringing $1.2 million dollars into Marion County. Of those who filed 283 families qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which included $444,000 in tax credits.

"United Way is pleased to partner with the IRS to provide this free service to the community," said Maureen Quinlan, president of United Way of Marion County. "Through VITA, families get 100 percent of their tax refund back as well as get connected to other community resources. My sincere thanks goes out to the dedicated volunteers."

United Way launched the Marion County Prosperity Campaign in 2007 which is working to help families and empower them to move toward financial stability. Currently the program has four components: VITA, EITC awareness, personal finance workshops that provide free financial and budgeting information and skills to enable individuals and families manage their financial resources wisely, and the Familywize free prescription discount card. All programs are free to Marion County residents.