Volunteer of the Week: Edwardsburg’s Karen Moll
Published 11:06 am Thursday, March 6, 2014
Karen Moll, of Edwardsburg, does free tax preparation for senior citizens at the Greater Niles Senior Center.
Q: What do you do as a volunteer?
I volunteer with AARP tax aid. We do taxes for senior citizens during tax season.
When I stopped working I wanted to give back to the community. It is something I always wanted to do, but I didn’t know what to do.
I’d been doing taxes on my own for years and thought I could do that.
I heard that AARP did this for senior citizens and low-income people and found their information on the website.
I took a tax course and put my name in and someone contacted me. I’ve been doing it for about seven years. I have done most of it at the Niles Senior Center, but one year I did it in South Haven.
I’ve helped in other places too, like Buchanan and Benton Harbor.
Q: What do you enjoy about it?
Being around people and really helping senior citizens complete paperwork that they shouldn’t have to pay to have done. Most of the people aren’t real high income so they shouldn’t have to pay to have someone do their taxes. I’m sure people like H & R Block don’t like to hear me say that, but that’s why I do it. Helping people, saving them some money. Most people are very grateful.
Q: Who is eligible for this service?
Generally we take anyone 50 and older, similar to AARP. If they are interested they can call and make an appointment at the Niles Senior Center. We started taking appointments in January.
By this time we are already booked through April 15. Everyone has to file by April 15 so that is the cutoff. We don’t do anything the rest of the year. It is just a seasonal thing.
Q: Do you volunteer anywhere else?
Not right now. I have done other things in the past, but for right now this is it. I may get into something else again for another time of the year, but this fulfills my need for volunteering so I just leave it at that right now.
You can contact the Greater Niles Senior Center by phone at (269) 683-9380 or visit the website nilesseniorcenter.org. It is located at 1109 Bell Rd., Niles.
