El Centro has selected Mr. William C. Deckert as its volunteer of the year. Mr. Deckert will receive his recognition on April 19, 2016 at the United Way of Wyandotte County’s 39th Annual Volunteer Event at Lake Quivira Country Club.
Mr. Deckert retired from the IRS in 1999. He began volunteering for El Centro in 2005, serving as a volunteer tax preparer at one of our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites.
Since 2005, Mr. Deckert has volunteered a total of 3,000 hours for El Centro, working between 4 and 8 hours per day, 3 days a week during the tax season. Bill has taught VITA classes for several years and even does tax preparation at our office during the summer.
As with most volunteers, Bill says that he has received more gratitude from our clients than anything he has given.
“To see a single mother of six with $10,000 of total income from several jobs, receive over $10,000 in IRS refunds is very rewarding. During this tax season, we prepared a return for a single Latino mother of three, who received a $6,000 refund. She would have been charged $400 to $600 to have her return prepared by a tax service. Regardless of the size of the refund we usually receive thanks from clients each session. I am very grateful to El Centro for the opportunity to volunteer.”