County Recognizes Volunteers at Community Action Month Celebration

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 25, 2017

At the Community Action Month Celebration held last night in Rockville, the Community Action Board (CAB) and staff honored individuals and organizations for their contributions to address poverty in Montgomery County and improve the lives of low-income residents. At the event, a joint proclamation from County Executive Ike Leggett and the County Council was presented by County Council Vice President Hans Riemer and Mike Subin, Special Assistant to the County Executiv4e and representative to the Community Action Board. The event honored volunteers who provide invaluable services to low-income residents. 

 

Volunteers from the Community Action Agency’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program and the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Center were recognized for their efforts.  Through the VITA partnership, 85 volunteers provided more than 3,000 hours of free tax preparation services during the past year, serving 2,204 families with low-to-moderate incomes.  VITA volunteers helped them increase their assets, bringing back $5.4 million to their households, including more than $1.5 million in federal, state and county earned income tax credits (EITC) and child tax credits.  The EITC and child tax credits are considered the most effective government program in reducing child poverty. 

 

The TESS Center, located in the Long Branch area of Silver Spring, provides both direct services and referrals for residents in need of social, health, educational, legal, housing and nutritional assistance to more than 8,000 residents each year. Staff and volunteers were recognized for the critical support they provided following the Flower Branch Apartment fire in August 2016.

 

In addition, sixty-eight volunteers serving the TESS Center were honored, including attorneys from the Montgomery County Maryland Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Program, faith groups providing families with resources, and volunteers supporting an on-site summer meals program, English classes, and early literacy and holiday giving programs.

 

Silver Spring resident Soffie Ceesay, an advocate who supports residents by raising money for families in need, bringing resources and support to those in crisis situations for more than 20 years, received the Marcia Plater Community Action Award for an Adult Volunteer.  Future Link, an organization that provides self-advocacy education, career immersion activities, mentoring and academic supports to at-risk young adults in the community received the Henry L. Dixon Community Action Award.  The Gerald J. Roper Sr. Community Action Award was presented to the Gaithersburg Student Union, which in the last year engaged high school students to provide more than 1,500 hours of volunteer service.

 

The CAB recognized its outgoing board members and its recent Leadership Development Institute graduates.  Community Action Board members serve in an advisory capacity to the County Executive and County Council and advocate on behalf of poor and working poor residents. The Board also serves as the governing body for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Action Agency’s federal Community Service Block Grant and Head Start programs. 

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Release ID: 17-439
Media Contact: Mary Anderson 240-777-6534