2019 EITC Campaign Supports Low-Income District Residents and Brings the Community Together

April 15, 2019

A DCHS volunteer provides assistance with a SNAP application at the United Planning Organization tax site in SE DC.

Today is Tax Day — a day that D.C. Hunger Solutions (DCHS) celebrates because it marks the end of another successful Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Campaign.

Every year, D.C. Hunger Solutions leads an outreach campaign at tax aid sites across the nation’s capital to educate residents about the EITC and other tax benefits, and to ensure that eligible residents know how to claim these benefits. The campaign is also an opportunity to connect low-income taxpayers with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps reduce hunger and improve health.

For this year’s campaign, we trained over 60 volunteers who served at seven sites in neighborhoods across the District, from Adams Morgan to Anacostia. These volunteers prescreened over 600 individuals for SNAP, shared information on food resources in the District, and helped submit over 100 SNAP applications. These efforts will help many low-income D.C. households afford enough food to meet their basic needs.

The success of the outreach campaign is due in large part to our dedicated volunteers. We are very grateful for the time and energy they put into their work.

Another DCHS volunteer provides assistance at the UPO site.

“Something I learned about SNAP that I wish people understood is that many households with working adults can qualify as well, and the [application] process is not as difficult as people may think,” said volunteer Tracy Jackson. “My favorite part of volunteering was getting to know people in the community, especially the elderly. I spent my spare time having conversations about their lives growing up in D.C. It was awesome, and the stories were heartwarming!”

We are also grateful for our partner nonprofits working toward the common goal of supporting and uplifting the local community. Specifically, we would like to thank D.C. Community Tax Aid and all the tax sites that hosted DCHS and our volunteers for all the work they do to make D.C. stronger and healthier.

Learn more about our outreach efforts at DCHunger.org.