2023 Impact Report - Report - Page 9
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JobSTAR
Jackson County
JobSTAR is a resource for employers to help their employees overcome obstacles
that may impede their ability to work.
2022 Highlight: UWSCMI onboarded a new company into JobSTAR, the result of
a focus on recruitment.
Referrals Provided: 803 referrals across 10 businesses
(Oct. 1, 2021—Sep. 30, 2022)
An employee within the JobSTAR network began working with a Success Coach after
hitting financial barriers and housing issues. They created a budget to ensure that the
employee could maintain her household expenses. To help offset her expenses, she
was also encouraged to apply for Food Assistance and Child Day Care through the
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She was approved for both of
those programs. She and her family are now living in a home that she owns, with a
sustainable monthly budget.
—JobSTAR Success Coach
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ionia, Ingham, Kalamazoo, Montcalm, Shiawassee
and Washtenaw Counties
The VITA program is an IRS program administered by partner organizations throughout the
United States providing free, high-quality tax preparation services for low to moderate income
households making $57,000 or less.
2022 Highlight: UWSCMI’s VITA program expanded to serve Kalamazoo in 2023.
We also partner with agencies leading VITA programs in Calhoun and Jackson counties.
Households Served: 3,434
$5,681,526 in federal and state tax refunds brought back into the community
“I like discovering credits for lower income people in our communities that they didn’t know
they had coming. Sometimes you can find a lot of money for people in need, and it’s really
quite satisfying. If you like helping people and playing with numbers, I’d highly suggest
volunteering for VITA.”
—VITA Volunteer
Capital Area College Access Network (CapCAN)
Eaton and Ingham Counties
CapCAN is a community collaborative focused on increasing post-secondary attainment as
an achievable reality for all residents by fostering high educational aspirations through the
alignment of our institutions and resources.
2022 Highlight: CapCAN staff launched the College Ambassador program in which they trained
13 rising seniors in the summer of 2022 to engage with their peers at school regarding the
college process and help build a college going culture.
Students Served: 2,700
“During CapCAN’s Summer College Ambassador program, we learned about all the colleges
that were nearby in Michigan. I wasn’t thinking about it, but my sister was. She graduated from
high school previously, and she didn’t know which school to go to. I toured Davenport University
through the Ambassador Program and told her about all the opportunities. Now she’s a student
there, and she got a lot of scholarships.”
—Ranim, Summer College Ambassador program participant