Our time with Ms. Mackey spans a decade: “Community Link has been doing my taxes for 8 or 10 years now… they were only at the public library at the time but have branched out to many other places now. I go to the library all the time, I love to read, so I found Community Link.”

Ms. Mackey has her taxes prepared by one of our volunteers through the Free Tax Prep CLT program (aka VITA). Last tax season, 60 volunteers prepared 2,035 tax returns across 8 partner sites. We train volunteers to maximize tax returns so low-to-moderate income households benefit as much as possible.

In her time working with Community Link, Ms. Mackey became curious about buying a home. Her bank recommended our Homeownership Education and Counseling program and Ms. Mackey decided to work with us, “It made a lasting impact on me and my credit card spending. Some of what I learned was a reminder and some of it was making sure that I knew what I was getting into.”

“I’m a teacher and don’t make a lot of money but I didn’t let that deter me. I was determined to find something by the end of the year. Luckily, I did. The process itself was perfectly laid out. I knew each step of the way… Community Link allowed me to know that I can do it. They set the path.. it’s like they did all the homework for us. If I just stayed on course and did what they asked me to do then my dream would become a reality and it did. I think they were the helping hand and the link.. Community Link linked me up with becoming a homeowner and I’m truly grateful for the experience.”

Kecia Mackey is one of about 300 people in our Homeownership Education and Counseling program. We work with thousands of low-income households each year to prepare tax returns for free. Your donations make an impact across the community and ensure that our staff can continue this work. Please support Community Link today with a gift, by volunteering, and spreading the word.