NCTC Steering Committee Taps Kaye Schmitz
as Newest Member In May 2009, Kaye Schmitz, former Executive Director of the
Real$ense Prosperity Campaign and newly hired Executive
Director for the statewide Florida Prosperity Partnership,
became the newest member of the National Community Tax
Coalition’s Steering Committee, headquartered in Chicago, IL.
Schmitz was elected to the NCTC Steering Committee from
a group of eight candidates by her peers from all over the
country. The NCTC Steering Committee, comprised of between
25 and 30 members, is representative of the range of talents
and diversity of the Coalition’s 600 plus affiliate organizations.
Steering Committee Members play an integral role in shaping the activities and direction of the Coalition and the free tax preparation and asset building field by giving voice to the concerns and issues of Coalition affiliates and the low- and moderate-income taxpayers they serve. Members, who are elected with the purpose of being representative of the affiliates of the Coalition, incorporate a mix of both local programs and national partnerships while coordinating Coalition activities and setting priorities in the areas of technical assistance, capacity building, outreach and marketing, advocacy, and best practices. In August, Schmitz will be a speaker in three different workshops at the National Community Tax Coalition’s bi-annual conference in San Antonio. TX. |
Aleta Alston Toure – On the Real$ense Path to Success!  In 2007, Aleta Alston Toure and her two young children
spent all Thanksgiving Day serving food to the homeless.
“I was Director of Community Involvement for Union Mission,
Inc. in Savannah, Georgia,” explains Aleta, “and I wanted
my children to experience the true meaning of community
involvement up close and personal at all six of Union Mission’s
homeless shelters.” Little did Aleta know that she and her
children would be on the receiving end by Thanksgiving 2008,
living at Community Connections, their dinner being served
to them by a group of Jacksonville Fire Fighters.
“I shed a few tears that day,” Aleta recalls, noting that she and her children, now 9 and 6, came to Jacksonville in September of 2008 to begin a new life with her fiancé, but when her engagement and her new job ended about the same time, she was suddenly on her own with nowhere to turn and too much pride to ask for help. Now a grateful client of United Way’s Real$ense Prosperity Campaign, Aleta told her dramatic story at the Real$ense Steering Committee Luncheon on June 4: “I’m a highly educated woman – a graduate of MIT,” she said. “I grew up in a prominent, well-to-do family in Boston. I actually taught a class called Homelessness 101 in Savannah, and now I know it can happen to anyone. I’ve learned that a nice resume does not guarantee a job and that I can actually ask for help and accept it gladly.” Looking around at the many familiar faces among the Real$ense partners gathered for the luncheon, Aleta threw her arms open and said, “Thank you! You are the ones who’ve had my back all along, and you have outlined the path that I’m walking toward success.” With that statement, she held up the Real$ense graphic “S” map and began tracing with her finger the steps outlined in it: “I took the free financial classes and then I had my taxes done free and then I got Earned Income Credits, and then I opened an IDA (Individual Development Account) and now I’m saving for a house!” Aleta still lives at Community Connections with her children. She’s still seeking a position that utilizes her education and experience, but she is no longer a stranger in a new town. She holds several part-time positions at the Potter House where she and her children worship, and she takes every free financial literacy and family bonding class that comes along. She has also started a bible study group at Community Connections and spends a lot time advocating for, teaching good nutrition to, and encouraging the other women who live there. “There’s a big reason why God has me walking this path of Real$ense,” said Aleta. “When I attain success, I’ll be better able to help others walk the path because I’ve been in their shoes so that path is now very real to me.” |
Kim Can Bet on the Betty(e)s!  Special Projects Coordinator Kim Ouellette has been nicknamed “The Tasker” by those who are fortunate enough
to work with her, and a master task coordinator she is, having been instrumental in helping United Way’s Real$ense
Prosperity Campaign garner nearly $17 M in total tax returns over the past six years! “But I couldn’t complete all
of the tasks assigned me without the volunteer help of great people like the Betty(e)s!” protests Kim. “Whenever
I need phone calls made, paperwork sorted, folders assembled, data entered … I know I can count on either
Bette Sheldon or Betty Price, or both, to get the job done and get it done right!”
“I’ve been volunteering for the United Way since 2004 and started helping Real$ense in January of 2006 … just as they were getting revved up for tax season,” said Bette Sheldon, a retired phone company employee who often puts her great phone skills to good use calling to verify hours for tax-site volunteers or extend verbal reminders of special Real$ense events. “Betty Price is the computer whiz,” said Bette Sheldon. “I’m the one who makes phone calls – and we both do whatever Kim needs us to do.We are usually there on the same days and enjoy working together.” And why do “the Betty(e)s” volunteer for Real$ense? “It gives me a ‘real sense’ of worth,” said Sheldon, 77. “I’m still able to do things like I used to, and I know we are helping so many people in our community. The people here at United Way always go out of their way to tell you how much you are appreciated. It just makes a person feel good to do good work for others.” |
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Thank You... Dear Real$ense Steering Committee Partners and Friends, Thank you so much to those of you who were able to join us for June’s Real$ense Joint Committee Luncheon. For those of you who were unable to join us, however, I wanted to let you know Connie Hodges announced that I will be stepping down as Executive Director of Real$ense and Jeff Winkler will take my place. You all know that Jeff has done a fantastic job in his three years with Real$ense, more than doubling the volunteer base and growing the tax site numbers by 140% through his strong leadership, so we’re all thrilled that he has agreed to assume this role. I have loved my time with Real$ense and with all of you. As I said during that meeting, I thank Connie Hodges and Sherry Magill for conceiving and giving birth to Real$ense and for allowing me to raise it for six years. Jeff will be able to take the program to adulthood – there is no one else I would trust to do that.  I also thank Michelle Braun, Community Chair, and Melanie Patz,V. P. of Community Impact, who advised and guided with strength and wisdom and led us to institute formal organizational procedures. Thanks to Sherry Magill and the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the three new Real$ense staff members – Linda Hemphill, Lindsay Ferguson, and Deborah Holton have been a dream come true. And of course, we still have our mainstay, Kim Ouellette – “The Tasker” we call her – who keeps things moving forward with grace and style without letting anything slip through the cracks. Happily, I will continue to be a consultant to Real$ense as a grant writer and marketing advisor. My new full time role, however, for those of you who haven’t heard, is to start a state-wide coalition focused on the holistic approach that the Real$ense partners are already practicing. Janet Hamer, from the Federal Reserve System, is the Volunteer Chair of the new Florida Prosperity Partnership and Florida’s CFO, Alex Sink, has agreed to be the Honorary Chair and the Keynote Speaker at the first annual statewide conference, which was held in Orlando June 17-19th. The new coalition is focused on all aspects of financial stability – like the Real$ense partners are.We welcome all of you and your organizations to join us as we tackle the same kinds of issues statewide that you’ve been working on for years here in our community. Again, thank you so much for your support for Real$ense during my tenure and for me, personally. And a special thank you to those of you who were able to contribute a page to my memory book. It is the most beautiful, touching gift I have ever received. Thanks again and take care. Kaye D. Schmitz, Executive Director Florida Prosperity Partnership |
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