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[narrator] It's a beautiful, sunny Saturday in Daytona Beach,
Florida but university student Portsha Franklin is
spending her day indoors.
[Portsha Franklin] I just need you to sign right here,
and the date is already on there.
[narrator] Portsha is among 20 accounting majors at
Bethune-Cookman University who trained with the IRS so
she could help people like Shanice Johnson.
[Portsha Franklin] This is just outlining all your information.
[narrator] This is the first year the government's
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program has been offered
on this United Methodist campus.
Professor Michelle Troian says students spend about
an hour with each client.
[Michelle Troian] It's fantastic to be able to have a class where
the students prepare income tax returns in real life.
So it's taking the classroom setting and bringing it to life.
[Henry Hopkinson] Take this form, and you fill it out
to the best of your ability.
[narrator] The response of the community has been overwhelming
and clients like Sophea Beckford, an unemployed mother
of three, are grateful for the free service.
[Sophea Beckford] It means a lot.
If I knew how to do it myself, I would.
So it's great to have someone to come to help me do this.
[narrator] Student volunteers aim to keep the atmosphere upbeat.
[laughing]
[Henry Hopkinson] It's not the typical, "I'm going to
get my taxes done. Aw man it's that time of year."
It's more like, "I'm going to get my taxes done by friendly
people who really care about if I get a good credit or not."
[narrator] As students put theory into practice,
they learn a valuable lesson - reaching out to others makes
a difference in people's lives.
[Shanice Johnson] I had a lot of questions being that this is my
first time filling out my taxes.
They were very helpful and informative and it was
overall a great experience.