Do you want to make a difference in your community?
Give back with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program!
Community Action's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is recruiting volunteers to become IRS-certified VITA tax preparers, schedulers, greeters, interpreters, quality reviewers, and site coordinators during the tax season (January – mid-April 2023).
Receive free training (in person or virtual) and choose to volunteer in Rockville, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, or Wheaton.
High school students may receive SSL hours by volunteering as greeters or schedulers.
Community Action will hold two virtual information sessions for prospective volunteers. The sessions will take place on November 9 from 10:30 – 11:30 am and from 6 – 7 pm. Those interested in attending can send email to VITA@montgomerycountymd.gov .
For more information, visit montgomerycountymd.gov/CASHBACK, call 240-777-1123, or email: VITA@montgomerycountymd.gov .
 On October 15, Dr. Jeffery Johnson, Chair of the Community Action Board, led an orientation session for the Board’s Community Advocacy Institute (CAI). Now in its seventh year, the CAI is a free advocacy training program for lower income County residents. The program is bilingual in English and Spanish, including simultaneous interpretation for ten participants who are learning English.
Participants, pictured above, attend monthly workshops about advocacy topics, such as working with elected officials, key advocacy issues, storytelling, and developing testimony. Participants must also complete an advocacy project, which may include testifying before County Council or submitting written testimony.
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will become members of the CAI alumni group, a network of over 100 graduates from the first six years of the program. Alumni are actively engaged in a wide variety of activities and advocacy efforts.
The Board is excited to welcome the CAI class of 2023!
 Profile photo of Robyn N. Muncy, Professor, History, Affiliate Professor, American Studies, University of Maryland
Professor Robyn Muncy, of the University of Maryland Department of History, is teaching a new generation about the contributions of Community Action Agencies and other programs that grew out of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. Professor Muncy's class, "American Women and the Great Society," highlights these programs, which resulted from the Civil Rights movement and bipartisan partnerships.
Professor Muncy shared her enthusiasm for the class. "I teach the history of the Great Society for several reasons. This history offers terrific examples of the ways that grassroots activism and social movements not only create public policies but also give them their meaning in real people’s lives by shaping the implementation of those policies. In this study, my students learn how significant social change happens and how they might become agents of change themselves.
"I am also eager for students to grasp the ways that history is shaping our lives and communities now. Since Great Society programs—including Community Action Agencies, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, work study, National Public Radio, Medicare, Community Health Centers—all influence our lives today, this history dramatically illustrates the point that we embody the past in myriad ways.
"To know ourselves, we must understand the past. History Matters!"
On October 19, Evelyn Okutu, a Community Advocacy Institute graduate and Head Start Parents Policy Council member, and Sharon Strauss, Community Action’s Executive Director, were thrilled to speak about Community Action with Professor Muncy’s class. Their presentations highlighted the continuation through today of important work here in Montgomery County that began with the Great Society, including Community Action and Head Start. Following the presentation, the class attended a Community Action Board meeting where they observed how its volunteer structure embodies the principles of "maximum feasible participation."
 Evelyn Okutu, Head Start Parents Policy Council, and Sharon Strauss, Community Action
Did you know that each year, thousands of families in Montgomery County are eligible for thousands of dollars through claiming the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), but don’t receive them, because they haven’t filed a tax return?
Did you know that Maryland’s EITC has expanded, and that most people who receive Maryland’s EITC also receive Montgomery’s matching Working Families Income Supplement--even if they file with an ITIN, or if they are single or seniors? FREE TAX HELP IS AVAILBLE!
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program of the Department of Health and Human Services Community Action Agency is offering FREE income tax preparation to Montgomery County residents with incomes of $60,000 or less. IRS-certified preparers will assist residents to claim refunds and credits for the 2022 tax year by appointment, beginning in late January 2023.
Appointments will be in Gaithersburg, Rockville, Silver Spring and Wheaton, and online. Appointment scheduling begins on January 9 through
montgomerycountymd.gov/cashback
or by calling 240-777-1123.
To request multilingual fliers--available soon in English, Spanish, Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, Vietnamese--about ALL free tax partners serving Montgomery residents, or to volunteer with Community Action’s VITA, please email VITA@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov or call 240-777-1123. To learn about FREE online services to claim credits, check out GetYourRefund.org and GetCTC.org .
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 Head Start is a national early care and education program that provides comprehensive education, health and social services supports to families with young children ages birth to five.
Montgomery County’s Community Action Agency is the Head Start grantee for the Head Start/Pre-Kindergarten program serving children three to five years of age, and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is the delegate agency providing education services.
Currently in Montgomery County, there are three Early Head Start programs serving pregnant women and families with children from birth to three years old. The Early Head Start grantee agencies are Sheppard Pratt Family Services, Inc., CentroNia and the Reginald S. Lourie Center.
In-person: Families can register their children for Head Start in-person at the Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Room 141, Rockville, MD, 20852.
Online: Montgomery County Public Schools' QR codes link families to the application process for Head Start and Pre-kindergarten. The QR code takes the parent or guardian to a portal and they can apply directly from their phone in their preferred language. Fliers in English and Spanish direct parents and guardians to one link if they are new to MCPS, and another if they already have a child attending MCPS. Children must be three or four years old by September 1, 2022 to apply for Head Start or Pre-kindergarten. Families must meet income guidelines. The programs help children thrive in school and link their parents to resources, including parenting support.
Head Start/Pre-K registration fliers are available for download in English, Spanish, Amharic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, French, and Portuguese.
Do you have questions about Head Start? Check out the Common Questions online.
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