Community Notebook: Get Free Tax Help, Commemorate Black History Month

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Low- to moderate-income residents can get free help with taxes at both the Williamsburg and James City County libraries this month. Also this month, Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestowne and Colonial Williamsburg will mark Black History month with programs, lectures and exhibits. Read below for all the details and more.

Reserve Tax Assistance at Williamsburg Library

Citizens seeking help with taxes through the AARP Tax-Aide Program can reserve time at the Williamsburg Library beginning Feb. 13.

Free electronic filing is offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at the Williamsburg Library. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

While tax preparation services are also being offered at the James City County Library, they are not taking reservations. The service is walk-in only from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.

AARP Tax-Aide is a program of the AARP Foundation and is offered in conjunction with the IRS at both the Williamsburg and James City County Library. The program provides high-quality, free income tax assistance and tax form preparation to low- and moderate-income taxpayers, with special attention to those ages 60 and older.

Contact the Adult Services Desk at (757) 259-4050 for more information.

Area Events Highlight African-American History

In celebration of African-American History Month, Historic Jamestowne will offer special living history presentations showing the role of African-Americans at Jamestown during the Civil War.

The programs will take place at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Feb. 18. They are open to the public and included in the regular entrance fee of $10 for adults (free for children under 16 and Preservation Virginia members).

Interpreter and historian Jerome Bridges will portray slave-turned-soldier Private Harrison Woodson of the 25th Corps United States Colored Troops. African-American soldiers of his corps rotated between a Union Army outpost on Jamestown Island and the lower Virginia Peninsula, where Woodson guarded Confederate prisoners.

For further information, click here.

Jamestown Settlement will offer lectures at 2 p.m. Feb. 12 and 19 to complement its monthlong focus on the culture of the first Africans in Virginia.

Lauranett Lee, Virginia Historical Society curator of African American history, will speak on Sunday. She’ll give a lecture called, “Exploring 17th-Century Virginia: Legislating Boundaries and Creating Culture.” The lecture will examine Virginia statutes to show how the lives of women and Africans became increasingly circumscribed.

Christy Colman, president of the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredagar, will present “In the Cause of Liberty: Shaping the American Ideal of Freedom” on Feb. 19. She will explore the concept of freedom as a legacy of the early settlers and how interpretation of its meaning led to the American Revolution and Civil War. Advance reservations are recommended by calling (757) 253-4572 or emailing rsvp@jyf.virginia.gov.

Colonial Williamsburg will offer a three-day program called “More Than Slaves,” from Feb. 24-26. The weekend program will present the universal story of people seeking political, economic and social change.

Throughout the weekend, programs will explore the lives of slaves and free African Americans who lived in Colonial Williamsburg. It will also feature art exhibits exploring African American folk art, including a program exploring two quilts from Gee’s Bend, Ala.

Learn more about Colonial Williamsburg’s African American programming here.

Volunteers Needed to Help Identify Homeless

Volunteers are needed to help 50 Peninsula conduct its Registry Week, a concerted effort to identify the most vulnerable homeless in Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, York County, Williamsburg and James City County.

From March 25-30, 50 Peninsula will need approximately 100 volunteers. Most of the volunteers will need to administer the Vulnerability Index to homeless individuals.

50 Peninsula is part of the 100,000 Homes campaign, a national movement of communities working together to find permanent homes for 100,000 of the country’s most vulnerable homeless individuals and families by July 2013.

50 Peninsula will host an informational one-hour session from 2-3 p.m. Sunday at Mary Immaculate Hospital Community Education and Health Resource Center. For more information, click here.

Community Forum on Aging Set for March 6

The 30th Annual Community Forum on Aging will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. March 6 at Christopher Newport University.

The event features vendor exhibitions, continental breakfast and workshops for three hours. It also includes a Wellness Café from 8 a.m. to noon, where attendees can receive free screenings, health education and learn about healthy lifestyle activities.

The pre-registration deadline has passed, but attendees can register on the day of the conference. Read the full brochure here.

Heart Event Raises Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease

The 2012 HeartChase of Williamsburg will combine games, competition and smart phone technology to promote healthy living and raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and strokes.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on March 24 at Sullivan Square in New Town. Teams of three to five people will visit checkpoint challenges around New Town, aiming to earn points and support the work of the American Heart Association. Teams will complete as many Challenge Checkpoints as possible, locate and scan donation tags and return to Game Central within the final 10 minutes.

Teams can register online here. The registration fee is $25 per participant. For more information, call Donna at (757) 564-7060 or email ddhale@cox.net.